DefenceTalkDefenceTalkFrance must “shoulder its historic responsibilities” for 1960s nuclear test sites in Algeria, a senior Algerian military official said in the influential army monthly El Djeich, published Sunday. France carried out 17 nuclear explosions in the Algerian part of the Sahara Desert between 1960 and 1966. Eleven of the tests came after the 1962 Evian […]https://www.defencetalk.com/algerian-general-says-france-must-take-responsibility-for-nuke-sites-76776/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkUS President Joe Biden’s administration Wednesday extended the New START nuclear treaty with Russia by five years, saying it hoped to prevent an arms race despite rising tensions with Moscow, including over its imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. One day before the treaty was set to expire, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-extends-new-start-nuclear-treaty-with-russia-as-rifts-rise-76751/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkWhen an outgoing president hands the keys to the White House to the incoming one, another discrete handover takes place: the systems and codes for the US leader to launch a nuclear strike. On Wednesday Donald Trump’s huffy refusal to attend successor Joe Biden’s inauguration created an unprecedented challenge. Trump travelled to Florida three hours […]https://www.defencetalk.com/delicate-dance-handing-off-the-us-nuclear-football-76677/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkA former US defense secretary has called on President-elect Joe Biden to reform the system that gives sole control of the nation’s nuclear arsenal to the president, calling it “outdated, unnecessary and extremely dangerous.” The call from William Perry came the same day US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke with the nation’s top military leader […]https://www.defencetalk.com/biden-urged-to-renounce-sole-control-of-us-nuclear-weapons-76655/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkIran has nothing to gain from ending inspections of its nuclear facilities, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog warned as tensions rise after a top Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated. In an interview with AFP after a year in office, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi issued the appeal in response to calls by Iranian […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-has-nothing-to-gain-from-halting-inspections-grossi-76566/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkAn international treaty banning nuclear weapons is on the verge of coming into force, campaigners said Wednesday, with the last few necessary ratifications expected within weeks. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons — which bans the use, development, production, testing, stationing, stockpiling and threat of use of such weapons — was adopted by […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nuclear-weapons-ban-treaty-nears-coming-into-force-76505/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkRussia said on Tuesday it was ready to offer the United States a mutual one-year freeze on the number of nuclear warheads held by both countries in order to extend a landmark arms reduction deal due to expire next year. “Russia offers to extend the New START by one year and is ready to take […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-offers-us-one-year-freeze-on-nuclear-warhead-numbers-76498/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkNorth Korea is violating international sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear programme by exceeding a cap on petroleum imports and sending its workers overseas, including a former Juventus footballer, the United Nations said. Pyongyang is subject to a range of restrictions imposed since 2017 that limit its oil imports and ban exports of coal, fish […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-flouting-nuclear-sanctions-un-report-76411/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkFrance must clean up nuclear test sites in Algeria where radioactive waste remains from testing in the former colony during the 1960s, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning group said Wednesday. France carried out 17 nuclear explosions in the Algerian part of the Sahara Desert between 1960 and 1966. Eleven of the tests came after the 1962 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/france-must-clean-up-algerian-nuclear-test-sites-group-76214/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkIran’s Atomic Energy Organization said on Sunday that “sabotage” was the cause of an explosion that damaged the Natanz nuclear facility last month. “Security investigations confirm this was sabotage and what is certain is that an explosion took place in Natanz,” said spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi. “But how this explosion took place and with what materials… […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-says-sabotage-caused-natanz-blast-iaea-head-to-visit-to-iran-on-monday-76190/