Nuclear Policy News – July 16, 2021

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Top News:

ANALYSIS: Despite talk of options on Iran, U.S. has few good ones
Reuters

OPINION: The overreaction to China’s new nuclear silos
Responsible Statecraft

Air force nuclear cruise missiles seen costing about $29 billion
Bloomberg

United States

USAF conducts maiden hypersonic weapon warhead test
The Defense Post7/16/2021
The U.S. Air Force (USAF) has detonated an AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) warhead in a first-time test.

Air force nuclear cruise missiles seen costing about $29 billion
Bloomberg7/15/2021
The U.S. Air Force’s new nuclear cruise missile will cost at least $29 billion to develop, procure, operate and sustain, a Pentagon evaluation found.

REPORT: Countering weapons of mass destruction: Opportunities for DHS to better address longstanding program challenges
GAO7/16/2021
GAO observed that significant challenges remained at the CWMD office—such as low employee morale and questions about program efficacy. GAO has ongoing work evaluating these issues and plans to issue a report in early 2022.

East Asia

SURVEY: Most South Koreans don’t believe North will denuclearize
UPI7/16/2021
More than 9 in 10 South Koreans don’t believe Pyongyang is willing to give up its nuclear weapons, according to a new survey by government-run think tank Korea Institute for National Unification.

OPINION: The overreaction to China’s new nuclear silos
Responsible StatecraftDaniel Larison
7/16/2021
Panicking over this development would just encourage Beijing to increase its arsenal more than it already is.

Middle East

ANALYSIS: Despite talk of options on Iran, U.S. has few good ones
ReutersArshad Mohammed
7/15/2021
U.S. President Joe Biden has few real diplomatic alternatives to trying to persuade Iran to resume compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal and all appear harder to achieve, current and former U.S. and European officials said.

ANALYSIS: The Iran conundrum: what should Israel do if there’s no nuclear deal?
HaaretzAlon Pinkas
7/15/2021
With Tehran calling a temporary halt to nuclear talks with the U.S., it’s time for Israel to drop the bumper-sticker platitudes and start developing a clear strategy for what might come next.

REPORT: Iran nuclear talks stalled while U.S. waits for Raisi
Foreign PolicyMichael Hirsh
7/15/2021
Hopes for a fast deal—or any deal at all—are fading.

International Affairs

OPINION: Addressing nuclear harm: Prioritisation for the first meeting of states parties of the TPNW
Article 36Elizabeth Minor
July 2021
Addressing the ongoing harm to people and places from the past use and testing of nuclear weapons will be a long-term commitment under the TPNW.

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