The United States and Iran took steps to de-escalate tensions over the past few weeks, but it is unclear if the progress will lead to a resumption of talks over Iran’s advancing nuclear program. Meanwhile, the E3 will keep in place certain sanctions on Iran and the IAEA states current safeguards issues remain unresolved.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to the annual meeting of the Arms Control Association on June 2, ... Sullivan said just what needed to be said about the continuing risk of nuclear conflict: that the Biden administration would continue the long U.S. tradition of leadership in finding ways to reduce that danger.
For more than 50 years, the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) has served as an invaluable foundation for the international nonproliferation regime. However, the 11th NPT review cycle set to begin with the first Preparatory Committee this summer faces a daunting array of issues.
Christopher Nolan’s mesmerizing, thought-provoking, and sometimes disturbing feature-length film, Oppenheimer, provides a jolting, timely reminder for millions of moviegoers that nuclear weapons are anything but normal because the leaders of a few nations have the power to destroy us all. But it also leaves the viewers with lots of questions unaddressed in the film.
Deteriorating relations between the major nuclear powers have stymied progress on nuclear arms control and disarmament for more than a decade. As bleak as the situation is, however, reports of the death of nuclear arms control are greatly exaggerated, and last month, the Biden administration outlined a viable path for moving back from the nuclear brink that deserves serious attention and support.
Excerpts of Remarks by Keynote Speakers, as Prepared for Delivery
Some in Congress are pushing for higher funding for existing and new nuclear weapons programs, including for the development of nuclear-armed submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCM-N). This would bring back a nuclear weapon type that the U.S. withdrew from service 30 years ago and retired a decade ago. (June 2023)
The space for negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran's advancing nuclear program may be opening up after U.S. and Iranian officials expressed support for reaching an agreement and Iran took limited steps to increase monitoring of its nuclear program.
Iran’s recent willingness to work with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to increase transparency on its nuclear program could help open diplomatic space for additional steps toward decreasing tensions and rolling back Iran’s nuclear advances. The United States should take advantage of this limited window.