U.S. Prepared to Lift Nearly all Iran Sanctions, Zarif Tells Parliament
Barak Ravid | Axios
Outgoing Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote in a report to parliament that the Biden administration has agreed to lift almost all U.S. sanctions on Iran to secure a mutual return to the 2015 nuclear deal. The report includes details that hadn’t been made public before now and is the most official and comprehensive Iranian account of the status of the indirect talks with the U.S.
Official: U.S. Still Wants to Revive Nuclear Deal, Despite Iran Kidnap Allegations
Nahal Toosi | Politico
President Joe Biden’s effort to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal was already in a precarious position. Allegations this week that Tehran planned to kidnap a U.S. citizen are not helping. As word spread of the suspected plot, detailed in a federal indictment, a U.S. official familiar with the issue said the Biden administration will keep pursuing the nuclear agreement’s revival, despite a seeming stall in the negotiations with Tehran.
NNSA Produces First Upgraded Warhead for Sub-Launched Nukes
Aaron Mehta | Breaking Defense
America’s newest submarine-launched nuclear weapon has entered production. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced Tuesday that it has successfully completed the first production unit of the W88 Alt 370 warhead, a year late and millions over budget after a technical issue caused delays. The NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency located within the Department of Energy. While the DoD has oversight of developing the delivery systems for America’s nuclear arsenal — the planes, ships and missiles — the NNSA is in charge of producing the actual nuclear payload.
Russia to Discuss Strategic Stability With U.S. Next Week -RIA Cites Sources
Reuters
Nuclear strategic stability talks between Russia and the United States will take place in a week, the RIA news agency reported on Wednesday, citing sources in a Russian delegation at talks in Tajikistan. Russia wants to discuss all types of weapons, including nuclear, non-nuclear, offensive and defensive weapons, that can affect strategic stability and global security, RIA reported. U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed at a summit in Geneva last month to embark on an integrated bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue to lay the groundwork for future arms control and risk reduction measures.
‘They’re Not Going to F**king Succeed’: Top Generals Feared Trump Would Attempt a Coup After Election, According to New Book
Jamie Gangel, Jeremy Herb, Marshall Cohen, and Elizabeth Stuart | CNN
The top US military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley, was so shaken that then-President Donald Trump and his allies might attempt a coup or take other dangerous or illegal measures after the November election that Milley and other top officials informally planned for different ways to stop Trump, according to excerpts of an upcoming book obtained by CNN. The book, from Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, describes how Milley and the other Joint Chiefs discussed a plan to resign, one-by-one, rather than carry out orders from Trump that they considered to be illegal, dangerous or ill-advised.
Let’s Not Get Into a Nuclear Arms Race With China
Fred Kaplan | Slate
For several months now, American generals and admirals have been pushing hard on two big themes: the need to counter China’s growing military power and, separately, the need to “modernize” the U.S. nuclear arsenal—i.e., to build new missiles, bombers, and submarines as replacements and upgrades for the existing, aging models. Now comes a development that seems to bolster both arguments: satellite imagery revealing that China has built 120 missile silos in the desert near the northwestern city of Yumen—with what seems to be a launch control center connecting each group of 10—a perfect fit for its DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles.