DefenceTalkAs Iran’s new president reaches out to the West with a message of moderation, Israel’s hawkish approach on Tehran’s nuclear program looks likely to come under pressure, experts say. President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday emphasized the peaceful nature of the Islamic republic’s atomic program, telling the UN General Assembly that “nuclear weapons… have no place […]https://www.defencetalk.com/israel-challenged-by-iran-charm-offensive-analysts-49197/

DefenceTalkIran paraded 30 missiles with a nominal range of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) Sunday, the first time it had displayed so many with the theoretical capacity to hit Israeli targets. Iran displayed 12 Sejil and 18 Ghadr missiles at the annual parade marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. The stated […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-parades-30-2000-km-range-missiles-49170/

DefenceTalkRussian President Vladimir Putin meets Iran’s new president for the first time this week, reportedly armed with an offer to supply missile systems and build a second nuclear power reactor that is likely to gladden Tehran and trouble the United States. President Hassan Rowhani is set to meet Putin on the sidelines of a summit […]https://www.defencetalk.com/putin-to-offer-iran-arms-nuclear-deal-at-summit-49050/

DefenceTalkThe United States provided Iraq with intelligence on preparations for an Iranian offensive during the Iran-Iraq war even though it knew Baghdad would respond with chemical weapons, Foreign Policy magazine reported Monday. Citing declassified CIA documents and interviews with former officials, the magazine reviewed the US record as Washington weighs military action against Syria for […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-gave-iraq-intel-in-1980s-ignored-chemical-attacks-report-48910/

DefenceTalkIran has developed a second rocket-launching facility which will likely be used to test ballistic missiles, a London-based defence analysis group said Thursday. IHS Jane’s said it had pinpointed the site outside the city of Shahrud, around 350 kilometres (220 miles) east of Tehran, near the Caspian Sea and the Turkmenistan border. By analysing satellite […]https://www.defencetalk.com/new-iran-launchpad-for-ballistic-missile-tests-experts-48703/

DefenceTalkPresident Vladimir Putin is to visit Iran in August to try to restart talks on Tehran’s controversial nuclear drive, a Russian newspaper reported Wednesday. Putin’s visit is planned for mid-August, shortly after Iran’s moderate new president Hassan Rowhani takes office on August 3, Kommersant reported, citing sources in the Kremlin and the Iranian foreign ministry. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/putin-to-visit-iran-for-nuclear-talks-report-48618/

DefenceTalkThe top US general has informed Congress of options for military intervention in Syria, but stressed that the decision of whether to go to war was one for civilian leaders. In a non-classified letter made public Monday, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey set out five options — from nonlethal intelligence […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-general-lays-out-military-options-in-syria-48560/

DefenceTalkThe Burke Chair is issuing a fully updated version of the second volume in a new series of reports on the Gulf Military Balance. The new volume is called The Gulf Military Balance, Volume Two: The Nuclear and Missile Dimensions. Volume Two builds on, updates, and expands previous Burke Chair reports on the military balance […]https://www.defencetalk.com/the-gulf-military-balance-volume-two-the-nuclear-and-missile-dimensions-48533/

DefenceTalkAnalysis reveals a newly identified surface-to-surface missile base deep in the Saudi desert, capable of targeting Israel and Iran, according to IHS Inc. (IHS), the leading global source of information and analytics. As fears of a nuclear-armed Iran continue to stoke tensions in the Middle East, there are questions over whether Saudi Arabia might also […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ihs-reveals-saudi-arabias-undisclosed-missile-site-48425/

DefenceTalkIran’s role in flashpoints like Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan is proving a headache for the West as it tries to normalise ties with Tehran without a trade-off on its contested nuclear drive. As the Islamic republic prepares for presidential elections on Friday to choose a successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose eight years in office […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-nuclear-push-flashpoints-role-has-west-in-a-bind-48098/