Digests and Blog

President Donald Trump announced July 22 that the United States and Saudi Arabia finalized a civil nuclear cooperation agreement. Although Trump has yet to submit the deal to Congress for review, as required by the Atomic Energy Act, media reports and the administration’s descriptions of the agreement suggest the deal could provide Saudi Arabia with proliferation-sensitive technologies without adequate international verification. In negotiating this deal, the Trump administration has rejected key nonproliferation standards for U.S. nuclear cooperation that have long-standing bipartisan…

August 7, 2026The U.S. Defense Department decided earlier this year to conduct a “nuclear strategy review“ rather than a more formal Nuclear Posture Review. The last formal Nuclear Posture Review was completed in late-2022 by the Biden administration, which informed the Pentagon’s 2024 update of the Pentagon’s “Nuclear Weapons Employment” guidance plan.According to an Aug. 5 NBC News report, Undersecretary for Defense Policy Elbridge Colby, who is leading the review, says he wants to de-emphasize – but not necessarily eliminate – the long-standing requirement for “damage limitation”…

August 2026Last month, I and two members of ACA's Board of Directors, Maryann Cusimano Love and Matthew Bunn,were privileged to participate in  a highly significant event held at the Vatican: "The Global Nobel Laureates Assembly on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Nuclear War."The July 14-16 gathering was a rare convocation of senior experts from key AI companies, Nobel laureates in physics and peace, faith leaders, including from the Vatican, and some of the world’s top nuclear weapons policy experts.The Assembly, which was held shortly after Pope Leo issued his historic encyclical on “…

By: Mia Clarke, ACA Summer intern '26Engaging the next generation is among the most repeated calls within the nuclear policy community. The cultural and political contexts in which the arms control and disarmament movement exists have changed dramatically over the past decade, and our methods for connecting with the younger members of the public must keep pace to remain effective. Sadly, there’s no magic formula for navigating these changes perfectly. But selecting the appropriate medium, centering hope within messaging, and building on the intersection of nuclear weapons with many other…

Inside ACAJune 2026After weeks of tough negotiations and debate, diplomats at the pivotal 11th nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference failed to reach consensus on a modest outcome document that reaffirmed consensus-based commitments on nonproliferation and disarmament made at the 1995, 2000, and 2010 Review Conferences.The five nuclear-armed states thwarted the demands of the majority of non-nuclear weapon states and civil society organizations, including ACA, for meaningful language calling for concrete steps to advance negotiations on nuclear disarmament, as Article VI of…

June 16, 2026The April 28-May 22 nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference failed to adopt a final consensus document on May 22 after conference president Ambassador Do Hung Viet withheld the final document for debate due to unresolvable disagreements over how to address Iran’s nuclear program and the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. This marks the third straight failure of the NPT review process.The conference, which takes place every five years, involved some 130 states-parties. The review conferences aim to review NPT commitments, reaffirm support for the treaty, and create a…

Statement by Kelsey Davenport, Director for Nonproliferation PolicyFor immediate release: June 15, 2026Media Contacts: Kelsey Davenport (202-463-8270 ext 102); Daryl G. Kimball (202)-463-8270 ext. 107)Reports that the United States and Iran finalized a preliminary deal to halt the war is a welcome development that creates a pathway for resuming negotiations on Iran's nuclear program that were underway when the United States and Israel launched their illegal attack on Iran on February 28.Washington and Tehran must now capitalize on this diplomatic momentum to reach an effective, verifiable…

UPDATE: As expected, on May 18, the conference president issued his Rev. 2 draft outcome document, which is online here.Amb. Do Hung Viet, President of the 11th NPT Review Conference, circulated an updated Draft Outcome Document to states parties on the evening of May 13. The revised draft text, dubbed Rev. 1, was generally similar in style and structure, was slightly longer at 14 pages due to a few more additions than subtractions as the President, with the help of the secretariat, it sought to incorporate suggestions and criticisms of the zero draft from states parties.Upon circulating the…

The Pentagon’s plans for future nuclear weapons delivery systems are coming sharply into focus with this year’s budget request. In all the coverage of the exorbitant $1.5 trillion defense top-line, analysts have so far overlooked an important development: clear signs that the next generation of U.S. nuclear weapons delivery systems will be non-ballistic hypersonic missiles and reentry vehicles.It’s not just the Pentagon’s budget justification documents that provide evidence for this plan. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has also indicated that it is…

May 11, 2026On May 6, Amb. Do Hung Viet, the President of the 11th NPT Review Conference, circulated a relatively concise 13-page "zero draft" of the final conference document and invited states parties to begin offering their feedback. The document was put forward for review just 10 days into the month-long meeting and it takes a focused approach to each of the several major elements of the treaty and the dozens of issues that were raised in general debate statements in the previous days.Viet's zero draft is written in an economical style that seeks to focus on key principles and objectives…