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"I want to thank the Arms Control Association … for being such effective advocates for sensible policies to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and most importantly, reduce the risk of nuclear war."

– Joseph Biden, Jr.

Senator

January 28, 2004

Arms Control NOW

North Korea announces plans to boost nuclear deterrent

Authored by Julia Masterson on June 10, 2020

North Korea Announces Plans to Boost Nuclear Deterrent North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over a May 24 meeting of the Seventh Central Military Committee of the Worker’s Party of Korea, who discussed national efforts to bolster the country’s armed forces, including “new policies for further increasing the nuclear war deterrence of the country and putting the strategic armed forces on high alert.” According to a statement released that day by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), officials worked to refine a strategy to “reliably contain the persistent big or small military...

Iran’s Failure to Comply with IAEA Investigation Raises Concerns

Authored by Kelsey Davenport on June 8, 2020

In a June 5 report on Iran’s safeguards agreement, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) provided additional detail about the agency's investigation into possible undeclared nuclear materials and activities tied to Iran's past nuclear weapons development efforts and noted that Tehran has yet to comply with the agency’s requests for information and access. Given the information provided in the report, it appears likely that Iran violated its safeguards obligations by storing nuclear materials from its pre-2003 illict weaponization work at locations that were not declared to the IAEA...

IAEA Report Shows Iran’s Stockpile of Uranium Grows

Authored by Kelsey Davenport on June 8, 2020

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) June 5 report assessing Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal noted that Tehran’s stockpile of low enriched uranium continues to increase beyond limits set by the accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). While the stockpile growth is concerning, the IAEA report states that Iran continues to comply with the JCPOA’s monitoring and verification measures, which provide assurance that if Tehran were to take further steps to violate the deal or dash toward a bomb, its activities would be quickly detected. In short, Iran...

Tear Gas is Banned in War. It is Time to Ban its Domestic Use.

Authored by Kelsey Davenport on June 5, 2020

Images and videos from across the country are capturing the horrific results of police decisions to use toxic chemicals against protestors demanding justice for the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis and systemic changes to address racism in the United States. In one high-profile incident on June 1, federal law enforcement used tear gas , along with other measures, to drive back peaceful protestors so President Donald Trump could pose for a photo in front of a church. While international law permits the use of tear gas by law enforcement, it is undeniably immoral to...

Trump Administration Debates Resuming Nuclear Testing

Authored by Shannon Bugos on June 4, 2020

The Trump administration reportedly weighed whether to conduct a nuclear test explosion during a May 15 meeting with national security agencies. The United States has not conducted a nuclear test since 1992, and no other nuclear-armed country besides North Korea has conducted such a test since 1998. If the United States chooses to conduct a nuclear test, it would undoubtedly invite other nuclear-armed countries to do the same and launch a new nuclear arms race. The Washington Post first reported on this meeting on May 22. The administration did not make a final decision, with a senior...

U.S. to Withdraw from Open Skies Treaty | U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control Watch, May 27, 2020

Authored by Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos on May 27, 2020

U.S. to Withdraw from Open Skies Treaty The United States officially gave notice of its intent to withdraw from the 1992 Open Skies Treaty in May, prompting bipartisan opposition in Congress and expressions of regret from U.S. allies. President Trump justified the withdrawal decision on the grounds that Russia was violating the agreement, but he said , “There’s a very good chance we’ll make a new agreement or do something to put that agreement back together.” Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a May 21 statement that the withdrawal will take effect in six months. “We may, however,...

Welcome to the New Home for Project for the CTBT!

Authored by Shannon Bugos on May 19, 2020

The Project for the CTBT first emerged when the Obama administration stated that it would pursue the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty ( CTBT ). “To achieve a global ban on nuclear testing, my administration will immediately and aggressively pursue U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty,” President Barack Obama said in Prague in April 2009. Unfortunately, the treaty’s ratification by the United States has yet to pass. The purpose of the Project for the CTBT is to provide the public and policymakers with sound information and analysis about the treaty so as to...

Nevertheless, We’re Persisting …

Authored by Daryl Kimball, Kathy Crandall Robinson, and Tony Fleming on May 18, 2020

Since I wrote to you in April, the human toll of the global coronavirus pandemic has grown and the public health forecast about the crisis remains murky. The pandemic is not only affecting our daily lives, but also accelerating several worrying trends in international and security affairs. We continue to witness the decline of U.S. leadership, which is often necessary to forge international cooperation on an array of global threats, including weapons-related dangers, that don’t respect national borders. With your support, the staff and the board of directors continue working hard to bring...

U.S. Seeks Iran Arms Embargo Extension | P4+1 and Iran Nuclear Deal Alert

Authored by Kelsey Davenport and Julia Masterson on May 13, 2020

U.S. Seeks Iran Arms Embargo Extension The United States is considering a range of options to prevent the October 2020 expiration of a UN embargo that restricts arms sales to and from Iran. Those options include making a legal case that the United States remains a bona fide participant of the nuclear deal with Iran that it withdrew from in May 2018 in order to use a Security Council provision to block the embargo’s expiration. The embargo’s October 2020 expiration date is written into UN Security Council Resolution 2231 , which endorses and helps implement the nuclear deal, formally called...

Responses to Audience Questions from April 29 New START Briefing

Authored by Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos on May 4, 2020

Top former U.S. administration officials last week expressed support for a five-year extension of the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty ( New START ), the last remaining arms control agreement between the United States and Russia that is set to expire in February 2021. “Put me down in the column of extension, and the reason for that is the clock is running,” said Admiral (ret.) Michael Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during an April 29 event hosted by the Arms Control Association. Rose Gottemoeller, lead U.S. negotiator for the treaty, and Lt. Gen. (ret.) Frank...