Tick, Tick... Boom!: Netanyahu Kills Any Chance of Stopping a Nuclear Iran
Ariel E. Levite | Haaretz
Ostensibly there is no connection between the governing coalition’s legislative blitz and the Iranian/Israeli nuclear issue. They seem as far apart as east and west. But actually these issues are closely entwined, bound by a Gordian knot that’s impossible to untie. Let’s start with Iran. The same prime minister who made thwarting the Iranian nuclear threat his life’s mission is the one who, in his previous term, shortsightedly pushed U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 to withdraw from the JCPOA, the nuclear agreement with Tehran.
Russia to put Nukes Near Belarus’ Western Border, Envoy Says
YURAS KARMANAU | Associated Press
Russian tactical nuclear weapons will be deployed close to Belarus’ borders with NATO neighbors, the Russian ambassador to Belarus said Sunday amid simmering tensions between Russia and the West over Moscow’s war in Ukraine…Putin has said that construction of storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus will be complete by July 1 and added that Russia has helped modernize Belarusian warplanes to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
High Activity Spotted at North Korea Nuclear Complex After Kim's Bomb-fuel Order, Report Says
Reuters
Satellite images show a high level of activity at North Korea's main nuclear site, a U.S. think tank reported on Saturday after the North Korean leader ordered an increase in production of bomb fuel to expand the country's nuclear arsenal. The Washington-based 38 North North Korea monitoring project said the activity it had spotted, based on images from March 3 and 17, could indicate that an Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR) at the Yongbyon site was nearing completion and transition to operational status.
U.S. Discussing Freeze-for-Freeze Approach to Iran Nuclear Program
Barak Ravid | Axios'
The Biden administration discussed with its European and Israeli partners in recent weeks a proposal for an interim agreement with Iran that would include some sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran freezing parts of its nuclear program, according to 10 Israeli officials, Western diplomats and U.S. experts with knowledge of the proposal.
Inside Saudi Arabia’s Global Push for Nuclear Power
Edward Wong, Vivian Nereim and Kate Kelly | The New York Times
New details of the Saudi efforts provide a window into the recent difficulties and distrust between Washington and Riyadh, and into the foreign policy that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is pursuing: greater independence from the United States as he expands partnerships with other world powers, including China.
Blundering on the Brink: The Secret History and Unlearned Lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Sergey Radchenko and Vladislav Zubok | Foreign Affairs
The documents shed new light on the most hair-raising of Cold War crises, challenging many assumptions about what motivated the Soviets’ massive operation in Cuba and why it failed so spectacularly. At a time of escalating tensions with another brash leader in the Kremlin, the story of the crisis offers a chilling message about the risks of brinkmanship. It also illustrates the degree to which the difference between catastrophe and peace often comes down not to considered strategies but to pure chance.