• THE RUSSIA CONNECTIONCan Europe Defend Itself Against a Nuclear-Armed Russia?

    By Christina Pazzanese

    National security expert details what’s being done, what can be done as U.S. appears to rethink decades-long support. Regarding the U.S. nuclear umbrella, which has covered Europe since the 1950s, Richard Hooker says: “Is it reliable? I wouldn’t think so. If Putin were to threaten or actually use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine or, let’s say in Estonia, would the administration respond with nuclear threats of its own? Personally, I have my doubts.”

  • IRAN’S NUKESNegotiating a New Iran Nuclear Deal

    By The Institute for Science and International Security

    In August 2019, the Institute for Science and International Security produced astudy at the request of the administration for an internal discussion. It is not the current administration’s or the Institute’s position, although the Institute supports the general thrust, especially the need to go beyond JCPOA limits and for Iran to provide the IAEA a verified complete nuclear declaration.

  • IRAN’S NUKESCan Israel Destroy Iran's Nuclear Program?

    By Kian Sharifi

    U.S. intelligence has concluded that the odds of an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program in the next few months are high, but the jury is out on whether Israel can destroy its archfoe’s nuclear facilities on its own.

  • IRAN’S NUKESResponse to Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Article on Iran’s Short Timeline to a Bomb

    By David Albright and Sarah Burkhard

    Iran can build a crude nuclear weapon too quickly, in about six months, after a decision to do so, but the regime risks being detected early after its decision to do so and all along its subsequent pathway to a bomb. That time is more than sufficient for a devastating military response by Israel, hopefully supported by the United States and other allies.

  • NUCLEAR WEAPOMSHow Russia Neutralized Ukraine’s Tactical Nuclear Weapons

    By Dmytro Shurkhalo

    When Ukraine declared its independence from the U.S.S.R in August 1991., Kyiv came into possession of the third largest nuclear weapons stockpile in the world, after the Soviet Union and the United States.Anestimated 2,800-4,200 tactical nuclear weapons were relinquished to Russia in a move that may have changed the course of history.

  • CHINA WATCHChina Now Has More Than 600 Nuclear Warheads, Pentagon Says

    By Alex Willemyns

    The stockpiling reflects a changing attitude toward nuclear weapons among Chinese military planners, report says.

  • IRAN NUKESTaleghan 2: Pre- and Post Strike Assessment

    By David Albright, Sarah Burkhard, Spencer Faragasso, and the Good ISIS Team

    On October 25, 2024, Israel launched an attack on Iran that destroyed multiple buildings within the Parchin Military Complex. One target stood out–a building used for nuclear weapons development purposes under Iran’s Amad Plan in the early 2000s.

  • IRAN’S NUKESIran Increases Enrichment Activities to Dangerous Levels: IAEA

    By David Albright and Sarah Burkhard

    The most recent IAEA report sounded an alarm about a dangerous increase in Iran’s enrichment activities at the Fordow enrichment plant. No longer constrained by the 2015 nuclear deal, from which the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew in 2018, Iran can now decide to produce10-15 kg of weapon grade uranium (WGU) per month, an annual rate of 120 to 130 kg WGU per year, enough for about five nuclear weapons. Iran could supplement this at any point by using its existing stock of 60 percent highly enriched uranium (HEU).

  • NUCLEAR WEAPONSStopping the Bomb

    By Leda Zimmerman

    When one country learns that another country is trying to make a nuclear weapon, what options does it have to stop the other country from achieving that goal? While the query may be straightforward, answers are anything but. One scholar identifies a suite of strategies states use to prevent other nations from developing nuclear weapons.

  • NUCLEAR WARThe Unthinkable: What Nuclear War in Europe Would Look Like

    By Amos Chapple

    If Russia were to launch a massive nuclear strike on Ukraine or Western Europe, there is not much the continent could do to stop it. NATO’s internal calculations reportedly predict that in the event of an all-out attack from Russia, the military bloc has “less than 5 percent” of the air defenses needed.

  • NUCLEAR WARThe World Isn’t Taking Putin’s Nuclear Threats Seriously – the History of Propaganda Suggests I Should

    By Colin Alexander

    Vladimir Putin has spoken several times about using nuclear weapons since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. To believe that Putin is not serious about using nuclear weapons is a dangerous assumption to make.

  • NORTH KOREANorth Korea Explained: What Americans Need to Know

    The Korean Peninsula, with its intricate web of historical tensions, nuclear threats, and geopolitical dynamics, will demand a nuanced and strategic approach from the incoming administration.

  • NUCLEAR ESCALATIONHow to Manage Escalation with Nuclear Adversaries Like China

    By Doug Irving

    Chinese leaders fled Beijing in October 1969, as a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union seemed imminent. They were on the precipice of nuclear war owing to a remarkable series of missteps and miscommunications. The crisis of 1969 holds some important lessons for U.S. military planners as they think through how a future war with China could unfold. It needs a theory of victory that explains not just how it plans to win, but how it plans to win without triggering a nuclear war.

  • ASIAN SECURITYSouth Korea and Nuclear Weapons

    By Ranjit Kumar Dhawan

    The constant threat of North Korean aggression and fears of abandonment by the United States of its security commitment to South Korea have been the primary reasons for Seoul’s nuclear ambitions. More recently, the deepening military alliance between North Korea and Russia has raised serious concerns in South Korea.

  • IRAN’S NUKESWe Need a New Discussion About Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Work

    By David Albright and Sarah Burkhard

    U.S. intelligence is shielding the Biden-Harris administration from having to take serious action on Iran’s nuclear program. While hinting at nuclear weapon activities taking place, the U.S. intelligence community is focusing on public Iranian statements and old news on Iran’s capabilities to produce weapon-grade uranium — but it avoids any type of public discussion on what nuclear weaponization activities Iran may be undertaking, and how soon it can build a nuclear weapon. Likely, because some uncomfortable truths would come out: Iran can do it way too quickly, and initial activities to build the bomb could be difficult to detect.