Top News: New START Treaty aggregate numbers of strategic offensive arms U.S. Department of State House lawmakers lay out defense bill plans in face of COVID-19 limitations Inside Defense Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S. hold phone talks on peace efforts with N.K. Yonhap United States House lawmakers lay out defense bill plans in face of COVID-19 limitations Inside Defense4/1/20 House Armed Services Committee leaders say they hope to have the fiscal year 2021 defense authorization bill ready by May 1, though the COVID-19 outbreak means the legislation will be crafted in a much different and more “informal” way than in the past. New START Treaty aggregate numbers of strategic offensive arms U.S. Department of State4/1/2020 The data in this Fact Sheet comes from the exchange of data required by the treaty. TESTIMONY: FMWG members offer public testimony on nuclear spending FMWG3/31/20 A nuclear explosion detonated anywhere by a terrorist group would be a global humanitarian, economic, and political catastrophe. OPINION: Biden calls on U.S. to ease Iran sanctions, help with coronavirus pandemic New York PostBob Fredericks 4/2/20 Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden on Thursday called for America to ease sanctions on Iran, saying the U.S. should offer relief to the Islamic Republic and other nations to help them deal with the coronavirus pandemic. OPINION: Trump and Biden must unite on China strategy before November The HillJoseph Bosco 4/2/20 To prevent the Communist Party of China from interfering in America’s November election the way it did with Taiwan in January, President Trump and former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, should present a united front on U.S.-China policy. East Asia Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S. hold phone talks on peace efforts with N.K. Yonhap4/2/20 The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States held phone talks Thursday over the North Korean nuclear issue and joint efforts for lasting peace on the peninsula, the foreign ministry said. Middle East OPINION: Is Iran using the coronavirus crisis to bolster its nuclear program? DWShabnam von Hein 4/2/20 As the coronavirus continues to ravage Iran, European countries are offering aid. However, Tehran continues to enrich nuclear fuel, claiming it is using gamma rays as disinfectant. OPINION: The Iran deal lives on National ReviewJonathan Tobin 3/31/20 Steve Mnuchin’s recent besting of Mike Pompeo on whether to waive sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program raises questions about the Trump administration’s resolve vis-à-vis Iran. Russia and Europe ANALYSIS: Will COVID-19 force a break in the UK’s Continuous At-Sea Deterrence? BASICSebastian Brixey-Williams 4/2/20 The Times’ Lucy Fisher reported yesterday that the Royal Navy (RN) has been alternating between just two of its four nuclear-armed Trident submarines for the last year, with the other two undergoing repairs beset by long-term delays. Multilateral Arms Control IAEA dispatches COVID-19 detection equipment WNN4/2/20 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is dispatching a first batch of equipment to more than 40 countries to enable them to use a nuclear-derived technique to rapidly detect the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.