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"[Arms Control Today is] Absolutely essential reading for the upcoming Congressional budget debate on the 2018 #NPR and its specific recommendations ... well-informed, insightful, balanced, and filled with common sense."

– Frank Klotz

former Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration

March 7, 2018

Arms Control NOW

Select Statements of Support for New START

Authored by Shannon Bugos on November 13, 2019

Updated September 2020 The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty ( New START ), which entered into force in 2011, will expire on February 5, 2021, unless the U.S. and Russian presidents decide to extend the treaty by up to five years. New START is the latest in a series of agreements negotiated by Republican and Democratic presidents that verifiably limit and reduce the U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals. Under the treaty’s terms, the U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals are limited to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads; 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (...

Iran Announces New Nuclear Violation | P4+1 and Iran Nuclear Deal Alert

Authored by Kelsey Davenport and Julia Masterson on November 7, 2019

Iran Announces New Nuclear Violation President Hassan Rouhani directed the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) to introduce uranium gas into centrifuges installed at the Fordow facility on Nov. 6, violating the prohibition on enrichment activities at the site put in place by the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran’s decision to begin enriching uranium at Fordow under international supervision is a serious breach of the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). While the step does not pose a near-term proliferation threat, it risks eroding European support and...

A Message from the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Authored by Mayor Matsui Kazumi and Mayor Taue Tomihisa on November 1, 2019

This year, on August 6 and August 9, the world will mark 75 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As survivors of the bombing, the hibakusha , decrease in number, listening to them grows ever more crucial. As a human family, we must not forget the tragedy of those two cities. Instead, we must ensure that future generations know the devastation wrought by nuclear weapons and are inspired to act to eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons. Now is the time for civil society and world leaders to renew our resolve to ensure the deep humanitarian conviction of the hibakusha that...

Our Place in the Universe and Nuclear Weapons: Reflections from a Nuclear Arms Control Negotiator

Authored by Roland Timerbaev on October 28, 2019

EDITOR’S NOTE: Amb. Roland Timerbaev passed away in mid-August at the age of 91. Timerbaev was a member of the Soviet/Russian diplomatic service for 43 years, with his final posting as permanent representative of the Soviet Union/Russia to international organizations in Vienna from 1988 to 1992. He also participated in negotiations on the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the 1973 Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War, the 1974 Treaty on the Limitation of Underground Nuclear Weapon Tests, and the 1976 Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty. Timerbaev was one of the central figures in the...

U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control Watch, Oct. 17, 2019

Authored by Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos on October 17, 2019

Trump Poised to Withdraw from Open Skies Treaty The Trump administration is reportedly on the verge of withdrawing from the 1992 Open Skies Treaty , according to lawmakers and media reports. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, first sounded the public alarm in an Oct. 7 letter to National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien. “I am deeply concerned by reports that the Trump Administration is considering withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty and strongly urge you against such a reckless action,” Rep. Engel wrote. “American withdrawal would only benefit...

North Korea Rejects U.S. Proposal | North Korea Denuclearization Digest, October 10, 2019

Authored by Julia Masterson and Kelsey Davenport on October 10, 2019

North Korea Rejects U.S. Proposal U.S. and North Korean negotiators met for the first time in seven months Oct. 4-5 to continue talks on denuclearization and peacebuilding on the Korean peninsula, but the prospects for further negotiations remain unclear as Pyongyang continues to reiterate that the Trump administration must change its position for the process to continue. The State Department characterized the talks in Stockholm as “good” and said the U.S. negotiating team brought new proposals to the table to address all of the goals laid out in the June 2018 Singapore summit declaration ...

Countries Urge Entry into Force of Nuclear Test Ban at UNGA

Authored by Shannon Bugos on October 7, 2019

In the midst of this year’s United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City on Sept. 25, ministers of foreign affairs and diplomats representing nearly 50 countries spoke at a biannual conference in favor of entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) signed by 184 countries. Signed in 1996, the CTBT prohibits “any nuclear weapon test explosion or any nuclear explosion” no matter what the yield, anywhere in the world. According to Article XIV of the treaty, the agreement cannot enter into force until it has been both signed and ratified by the 44 countries listed in...

French Proposal on Hold as Tensions Mount | P4+1 and Iran Nuclear Deal Alert

Authored by Daryl G. Kimball and Julia Masterson on September 24, 2019

French Proposal on Hold as Tensions Mount The latest attempt by European powers to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal hit a roadblock this month when the Trump Administration hesitated to engage in a French-sponsored initiative. In August, French President Emmanuel Macron offered a proposal before world leaders at the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France for a $15 billion line of credit to Tehran in exchange for its full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). According to the plan, the $15 billion credit line would be guaranteed by Iranian oil and would help compensate...

U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Cooperation Policy Still Far from Adequate (UPDATED)

Authored by Daryl Kimball and Kingston Reif on September 17, 2019

UPDATE, Sept. 19 : A day after we published this post, Bloomberg revealed that Energy Secretary Rick Perry's letter to the Saudi's also stated that "The terms of the 123 Agreement [with Saudi Arabia] must also contain a commitment by the kingdom to forgo any enrichment and reprocessing for the term of the agreement." This is good news and the right policy, as we describe below. Such a commitment should have a long-term duration, be legally-binding, and apply to both U.S.-origin and non-U.S. origin fuel. Over the past two years, the Trump administration and Saudi Arabia have been engaged in...

U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control Watch, Sept 13, 2019

Authored by Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos on September 13, 2019

U.S. Tests Ground-Launched Cruise Missile On Aug. 18, less than two weeks after the official collapse of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the United States tested a ground-launched variant of the Tomahawk sea-launched cruise missile that would have been prohibited by the treaty. The test was a clear signal that the United States can and will pursue such systems in the absence of the INF Treaty. In a statement, the Defense Department said the “test missile exited its ground mobile launcher and accurately impacted its target after more than 500 kilometers of flight. Data...