DefenceTalkNorth Korea put tractor-towed artillery, fire engines and health personnel in orange hazmat suits on show at a parade in Pyongyang early Thursday, rather than the more usual tanks and ballistic missiles. Pyongyang has continued to pursue its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs — for which it is internationally sanctioned — during the diplomatic […]

DefenceTalkUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Wednesday that time was running out for Iran to return to a nuclear deal after a scathing report by the UN atomic watchdog and Tehran’s signals that it would take a while to return to talks. The IAEA released a strongly-worded report Tuesday saying monitoring tasks in Iran […]

DefenceTalkIran’s President-elect Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday he will not allow nuclear negotiations for the sake of negotiations, in his first news conference since winning election last week. Raisi also ruled out meeting US President Joe Biden but said there were “no obstacles” to resuming diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, the Sunni-ruled regional rival of […]

DefenceTalkEven as the pandemic raged and economies around the world were devastated, nuclear-armed countries last year increased spending on atomic weapon arsenals by 1.4 billion dollars, campaigners said Monday. In a fresh report, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) detailed how the world’s nine nuclear-armed states continued to swell their spending on such […]

DefenceTalkIran’s President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday the decision to boost uranium enrichment to 60 percent was a response to arch-foe Israel’s “nuclear terrorism” against its Natanz facility. Tehran starting up advanced centrifuges and producing more highly refined uranium “is a response to your malice”, Rouhani said in a message aimed at the Jewish state. “What […]

DefenceTalkTalks to save the Iran nuclear deal resume in Vienna Thursday amid new tensions, with Tehran preparing to ramp up uranium enrichment in response to an attack on a facility it blamed on arch-foe Israel. After a positive first round of negotiations aimed at resurrecting the 2015 agreement scuttled by Donald Trump, Iran’s push towards […]

DefenceTalkBritain is to announce an increase to its nuclear weapons stockpile as part of a wide-ranging review of security, defence and foreign policy, two newspapers said on Monday. The Guardian and The Sun said in their online editions that the country would look to raise the number of warheads from 180 to 260 by the […]

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkIran on Friday renewed its call for the US to lift all sanctions imposed by former president Donald Trump, after an offer for talks from new President Joe Biden’s administration. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that Iran would “immediately reverse” its retaliatory measures if the US lifts “all sanctions imposed, re-imposed or re-labelled by […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-renews-call-to-us-to-lift-all-sanctions-imposed-by-trump-76785/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkUS President Joe Biden said he won’t lift sanctions against Iran as long as the Islamic republic is not adhering to its nuclear deal commitments. Asked whether he would halt sanctions to convince Iran to return to the bargaining table, Biden offered a clear reply in a CBS interview aired Sunday: “No.” The journalist then […]https://www.defencetalk.com/biden-says-us-wont-lift-sanctions-to-bring-iran-to-talks-76779/

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/