Setting a Course Away From the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
Garrett Hinck and Pranay Vaddi | War on the Rocks
As the new administration reassesses U.S. nuclear policy, it will be forced to make decisions about the future of the country’s ground-based, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) arsenal. Many advocates of maintaining the nuclear status quo have argued that it is essential to completely replace America’s aging Minuteman ICBMs with a new set of missiles, commonly referred to as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent. And yet, to justify this approach, advocates have falsely presented the decision as a binary choice. They claim the United States must either fully replace its ICBMs or jettison them entirely. There is, however, an alternative approach: Extend the lifespan of the Minuteman ICBMs and use arms control to reduce the deterrence requirements that ostensibly justify them.
Iran Says it Will End Snap IAEA Inspections if Nuclear Deal Terms Not Met
Parisa Hafezi | Reuters
Iran said on Monday it will block snap inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog from next week if other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal do not uphold their obligations, a challenge to U.S. President Joe Biden’s hope of reviving the accord. “If others do not fulfil their obligations by Feb. 21, the government is obliged to suspend the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said. “It does not mean ending all inspections by the U.N. nuclear watchdog...All these steps are reversible if the other party changes its path and honours its obligations,” he said, alluding to the United States. Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency wrote on Twitter on Monday that Tehran has informed UN watchdog about its plan next week to end sweeping inspection powers given to the agency under the nuclear pact.
ICBM Commander Makes Case for U.S. Nuke Modernization
Abhijnan Rej | Diplomat
Writing for Breaking Defense on February 12, the commander of U.S. 20th Air Force, responsible for managing the three intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) wings, has made a case for continued nuclear weapons modernization as the United States seeks to meet an array of nuclear threats. In his article, Major General Michael Lutton asserted that “to be an effective deterrent force, U.S. nuclear forces must be modernized—the ICBM force, the bomber force, the submarine ballistic missile force and Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) capabilities.” Questioning those who argue that continued U.S. nuclear modernization could fuel an arms race, Lutton claimed that the “critics’ arguments don’t line up with the facts.” “[T]he size and age of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile is at the lowest level of warheads since the late 1950s, with the average warhead age being older than at any other time in history,” he writes.
Iran Disowns Minister’s Warning That it Might Seek Nuclear Weapons if Cornered
Times of Israel
Iran insisted Monday that its opposition to nuclear weapons was official policy as laid down by its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the wake of recent remarks by a minister saying it might seek the bomb if cornered. “Iran’s position remains unchanged. Iran’s nuclear activities have always been peaceful and will remain peaceful,” foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a news conference. “The supreme leader’s fatwa banning weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons is still valid,” he added, referring to Khamenei’s religious edict. The fresh pledge came a week after Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said it would not be Tehran’s fault if the country were ever “pushed” toward developing a nuclear bomb.
Norway Intelligence Warns About New Nuclear Weapons Technology Developed by Russia
Thomas Nilsen | Barents Observer
Objectives with such tailored weapons could be to easier penetrate missile defense systems, or to compensate for conventional inferiority, according to the annual report from Norway’s Intelligence Service (NIS). Several of the new weapons do not fit into the traditional framework of arms control treaties. Last week, Russia and the United States in a last-minute call agreed to extend the New Start Treaty by another five-year period. The treaty is a successor to previous negotiations on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms between the Soviet Union and the United States. Although the global stockpile of nuclear weapons has been substantially reduced, the picture is way more complex than during the Cold War, the NIS report presented on Monday said.
Experts Urge Biden to Restore U.S. Leadership in Global Nuclear Security
Timothy Gardner | Reuters
Nearly 30 experts on global nuclear security urged President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday to restore U.S. leadership on fissile materials to reduce the threat that militants will use them to create weapons. Global security of materials like plutonium and highly enriched uranium received “limited high-level attention” by former President Donald Trump’s administration, the experts said in a letter to about six officials at the State Department, the Department of Energy and the National Security Council. “U.S. leadership on this issue has weakened and international progress has slowed,” wrote the experts, including Sharon Squassoni of George Washington University and William Tobey of Harvard University, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters.