Top News: European powers won’t push Biden for swift U.S. return to the Iranian nuclear deal Wall Street Journal Iran Parliament moves to raise uranium enrichment level to 20% Tehran Times Sandia completes first flight tests of B61-12 nuclear bomb with F-35A Air Force Technology United States Sandia completes first flight tests of B61-12 nuclear bomb with F-35A Air Force Technology11/24/20 Sandia National Laboratories has announced the completion of the first flight tests of the B61-12 nuclear bomb with the US Air Force (USAF) F-35A Lightning II fighter jet. ANALYSIS: Right of launch: Command and control vulnerabilities after limited nuclear war War on the RocksBruce Blair, Sebastien Philippe, Sharon Weiner 11/20/20 Imagine a rapidly escalating conflict between Russian and NATO forces. Compensating for Russia’s perceived conventional inferiority, Russian commanders execute a limited nuclear strike — a small number of low-yield weapons intended to change conditions on the battlefield. OPINION: Biden may have 16 days to stave off a nuclear arms race BloombergPeter Coy 11/25/20 Preserving the New START treaty with Russia will be one of his earliest missions. OPINION: Trump is junking a treaty—and two planes—designed to stop nuclear war QZTim Fernholz 11/24/20 Amid the foreign policy wreckage president Donald Trump will leave for his successor are a pair of scrapped aircraft that underpinned a treaty designed to lower the chances of nuclear war. East Asia ANALYSIS: On the value of nuclear dialogue with China Pacific ForumDavid Santoro 11/23/20 In view of the lack of knowledge about the nuclear dimension of the US-China strategic relationship and of the absence of interactions between US and Chinese officials on this dimension, the United States decided to sponsor unofficial discussions on these issues in the mid-2000s Middle East Iran Parliament moves to raise uranium enrichment level to 20% Tehran Times11/24/20 The plan is part of a broader strategy that aims to lift the United States sanctions on Iran. Iranian lawmakers had put forward a “strategic bill to lift sanctions” in early November that aims to force the U.S. into lifting sanctions on Iran through doubling down on nuclear activities. A Biden administration wants the Iran nuclear deal back. That could be much harder and riskier now CNBC11/25/20 President-elect Joe Biden made it clear during his campaign that his administration would favor a return to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, reversing a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy in the Middle East. With clock ticking, many fear a Trump military move against Iran Middle East Eye11/24/20 Trump is piling sanctions on Iran to make a return to the JCPOA more complicated. But is a strike against the Islamic Republic feasible? Russia and Europe OPINION: France and Germany agree on the U.S. more than they realize Washington PostAndreas Kluth 11/24/20 These two vantage points should lead to starkly opposed notions about transatlantic relations on defense. But, in fact, they don’t. While they place different emphases, they point in the same direction. European powers won’t push Biden for swift U.S. return to the Iranian nuclear deal Wall Street Journal11/24/20 There is growing concern about Iran’s nuclear research, but EU diplomats say they don’t want to rush new U.S. president to re-enter pact. ANALYSIS: Russian-American relations: from Trump to Biden National Institute for Public PolicyMark Katz 11/23/20 The incoming Biden Administration will inherit the same concerns about Russia that the Trump Administration had with it.