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10 years after Fukushima: Are Japanese nuclear power plants safe?

Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident in 2011, the Nuclear Regulation Authority set stricter and more rational standards. However, in practice, Japanese regulators have often compromised their reviews. It’s worth asking: Are the restarted Japanese nuclear power plants safe?
Mohammad Javad Zarif, in 2019

Nine hurdles to reviving the Iran nuclear deal

Although reviving the Iran nuclear agreement is certainly still possible, it won’t be easy. The two sides will need to overcome nine hurdles to make it happen.
ICBM test launch

Revenge is a dish best served nuclear. US deterrence depends on it.

Deterrence appears to depend on rational actors who desire survival above all else. But it's revenge, not rationality, that often drives decisions.
Putin and Trump shake hands at APEC meeting in Vietnam in November 2017

Trump and Putin meet under a nuclear cloud

In a few days, US President Donald Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. Media coverage will undoubtedly highlight Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, but it would be remiss not to discuss the nuclear implications of the Trump-Putin summit as well. Kto vinovat? (Russian for “who is to blame?”) … Continued
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Game of Thrones: Dragons are the nuclear option

We’re in the midst of a new Game of Thrones season, which seems to be finally reaching a grand finale. In the latest episode, known as “The Spoils of War,” viewers get a climactic, graphic, explicit view of the power of the heroine’s dragons, which reduce men, women and children to ashes in seconds, destroying … Continued

New terminology to help prevent accidental nuclear war

Since the advent of US and Russian nuclear-armed ballistic missiles and early warning systems,  the danger has always existed that a false warning of attack—believed to be true—could cause either nation to inadvertently launch a responsive “retaliatory” strike with its own nuclear forces. Fear of a disarming nuclear strike, especially during a crisis, creates immense … Continued

Where the presidential candidates stand on nuclear issues

With primary season upon us, the presidential candidates have been busy debating and making policy presentations so that we can begin to glean some ideas of their views on everything from the economy to national defense. As is often the case, the media haven't focused on the candidates' views on technical issues, but in the end, these may be among the most significant issues that the next president will face.

Haves, have-nots, and need-nots: The nuclear ban exposes hidden fault lines

The nuclear ban challenges conventional models of the nuclear age—and illustrates the consequences of structural inequities in the pursuit of disarmament.

The IAEA’s dilemma with Syria’s Al Kibar nuclear site

Although Israel's September 2007 raid on what it believed to be the Al Kibar nuclear site in Syria has often been compared to its 1981 raid on the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq, the aura of secrecy surrounding the Syria raid stands in stark contrast to the extensive public explanations offered by Israel 27 years ago. Further details about the Syria raid have recently been provided, but they didn't come from Israel. Instead, senior U.S. intelligence officials presented them to Congress and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in late April--nearly eight months after the raid.
US ICBM Test

Why is America getting a new $100 billion nuclear weapon?

The reasons for the United States new intercontinental ballistic missile—the ground-based strategic deterrent, or GBSD—are historical, political, and to a significant extent economic. Many people in the states where the new missile will be built and based see it as an economic lifeline. Their elected officials take campaign donations from defense companies, to be sure, but are also trying to deliver jobs in a political environment that has been hostile to government spending on anything but defense.
US State Secretary Antony J. Blinken meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on June 7, 2023.

Saudi Arabia can alleviate US concerns over its civilian nuclear energy program. Here’s how.

Two nonproliferation experts discuss how Saudi Arabia could become a responsible civilian nuclear power.
Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping

India–China border dispute: the curious incident of a nuclear dog that didn’t bark

The nuclear dimension of the recent border clashes was conspicuous by its invisibility. Can the rest of the world learn from it?
North Korea Standoff

Breaking the vicious cycle of the US-North Korea nuclear standoff

Sanctions alone will not solve the North Korean nuclear problem.
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Game changers: How the next generation can tackle the nuclear weapons problem

Millennials will inherit Cold War arsenals, but they don’t have to be stuck with old ways of thinking about what to do with nuclear weapons.

The narrow field of options for safely managing Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

Russian and Ukrainian officials making decisions about the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant are challenged by a complex safety and security profile. No single reactor-management option will address all hazards as long as the war continues.
Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Facebook removes pro-Soleimani Instagram content, calling it support for terrorism. Laurence Tribe says FB has it wrong

Facebook says it is taking down Instagram posts supportive of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in order to comply with US sanctions on Iran. Some experts think the company is misinterpreting legal precedent.

What does the Tehran-Riyadh split mean for the Iranian nuclear deal?

A new rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran has deep roots and could empower hardliners who want to see a historic agreement derailed
Golden Rule

The peace boat Golden Rule sails into a new era of nuclear activism

A piece of history is sailing around the Pacific Northwest to raise awareness of nuclear weapons. But the very idea of peace is history to many Americans.
President Biden with Middle East leaders

Why a WMD-free zone in the Middle East is more needed than ever

A growing interest in nuclear technology in the Middle East—combined with ambiguity over nuclear activities in Iran and Israel—raises concerns about potential proliferation in the region.