Top News: U.S. will continue nuclear talks with Iran, White House says Reuters ANALYSIS: China: the forgotten nuclear power no more Asia Times Iran will not return to nuclear talks before new government is formed in Tehran The Washington Post United States Pelosi feared Trump might use nuclear weapons in his last days in office, and asked a top general how stop it, book says Insider 7/15/2021 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked a senior military official how to prevent President Donald Trump using nuclear weapons in his final days in office, according to extracts of a new book published by CNN. U.S. will continue nuclear talks with Iran, White House says Reuters7/14/2021 The United States will continue nuclear talks with Iran, the White House said on Wednesday, after an Iranian plot to kidnap a U.S.-based journalist was made public. ANALYSIS: Why the U.S. once set off a nuclear bomb in space National Geographic Brian Gutierrez 7/15/2021 The results from the 1962 Starfish Prime test serve as a warning of what might happen if Earth’s magnetic field gets blasted again with high doses of radiation. ANALYSIS: Official: U.S. still wants to revive nuclear deal, despite Iran kidnap allegations Politico Nahal Toosi 7/14/2021 Prosecutors have charged five people, including four Iranian intelligence operatives, in the alleged plot to kidnap an American journalist. East Asia ANALYSIS: China: the forgotten nuclear power no more Asia Times David Santoro 7/15/2021 China’s nuclear arsenal expansion has sent mixed messages but regardless of intent will be an enduring problem for the U.S. OPINION: Can China be a real partner in bringing North Korea to the nuclear negotiating table? RAND Blog Soo Kim 7/14/2021 Prospects for productive U.S.-China cooperation on the North Korean nuclear threat seem faint at best. Middle East Gantz: We must ‘adapt our plans’ to prepare for a nuclear Iran The Times of Israel7/15/2021 “Against the greatest threat — Iran arming itself with a nuclear weapon — we have no choice but to expand our force build-up, to continue to rely on our human capital and to adapt our capabilities and our plans,” Gantz said. Iran will not return to nuclear talks before new government is formed in Tehran The Washington Post7/14/2021 Iran has indicated that it will not return to talks aimed at a U.S. return to the 2015 nuclear deal until after a new government headed by President-elect Ebrahim Raisi takes office next month, U.S. officials said Wednesday. Rouhani warns Iran could enrich uranium at weapons-grade levels The Hill 7/14/2021 Iran’s outgoing President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said that the country had the ability to reach the 90 percent uranium enrichment level needed to manufacture nuclear weapons, though the government is still aiming to renegotiate the fractured 2015 nuclear deal. OPINION: The Iran nuclear deal is doomed for failure The Jerusalem Post Andrew Lövy 7/14/2021 The JCPOA contains many flaws that not only fail to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, but actually grant Iran an internationally recognized path to nuclear weapons, in addition to emboldening the country’s military and regional ambitions. Russia Russia races to build giant ice-breakers for Arctic dominance France 247/15/2021 At Saint Petersburg’s historic Baltic Shipyard, cranes hover over the shining Neva River as hundreds of workers build four nuclear-powered ice-breakers.