Nuclear Policy News – July 21, 2021

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Top News:

New analysis shows Japan would accept U.S. no first use policy
Union of Concerned Scientists

Will Raisi follow Zarif’s path for reviving Iran nuclear deal?
Al-Monitor

ANALYSIS: Do Germany and the Netherlands want to say goodbye to U.S. nuclear weapons?
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

United States

How safe is the U.S. president’s ‘nuclear football’? Pentagon watchdog to find out
Reuters7/20/2021
The Pentagon’s watchdog said on Tuesday it would evaluate the safety protocols surrounding the president’s “nuclear football” – containing codes needed for a strike – after one such briefcase nearly came within range of rioters storming the Capitol on Jan. 6.

ANALYSIS: Defense Primer: Directed-Energy Weapons
Congressional Research ServiceKelley M. Sayler and John R. Hoehn
7/20/2021
As the Department of Defense (DOD) continues to invest in directed-energy (DE) weapons, Congress may consider implications for defense authorizations, appropriations, and oversight.

OPINION: Biden needs to re-engage Iran before it’s too late
NewsweekAzadeh Shahshahani and Khury Petersen-Smith
7/21/2021
Biden’s approach to rejoining the deal his predecessor torpedoed has been mixed at best.

East Asia

New analysis shows Japan would accept U.S. no first use policy
Union of Concerned Scientists7/21/2021
No first use would decrease risk of nuclear war while maintaining nuclear umbrella.

ANALYSIS: Nuclear notebook: how many nuclear weapons does North Korea have in 2021
Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsHans M. Kristensen and Matt Korda
7/21/2021
Due to the lack of clarity surrounding North Korea’s nuclear program, agencies and officials of the U.S. intelligence community, as well as military commanders and nongovernmental experts, struggle to assess the program’s characteristics and capabilities.

Middle East

Iran spokesman says powerful body rejects nuclear deal with U.S.
Al-Monitor7/20/2021
Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said July 20 that a high-ranking committee has decided that an Iran-U.S. agreement on the revival of the multilateral Iran nuclear deal, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has to be rejected.

Will Raisi follow Zarif’s path for reviving Iran nuclear deal?
Al-Monitor7/20/2021
Outgoing Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s final report on the Iran nuclear talks is self-serving in parts, but nonetheless charts a path to closing the JCPOA talks.

ANALYSIS: Will Bennett ditch Netanyahu’s approach to the Iran Deal?
Foreign PolicyOr Rabinowitz
7/21/2021
The Israeli prime minister seems to be charting a new course aimed at reducing tensions with the Biden administration in advance of a White House visit.

Europe

ANALYSIS: Do Germany and the Netherlands want to say goodbye to U.S. nuclear weapons?
Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsMichal Smetana, Michal Onderco, and Tom Etienne
7/21/2021
Does stationing U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe still make sense?

OPINION: Europe’s self-inflicted irrelevance on the Iran nuclear deal
Responsible StatecraftEldar Mamedov
7/21/2021
The E3’s failure to stand up to Trump was compounded by a series of miscalculations in the six months since Biden took office.

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