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"[Arms Control Today is] Absolutely essential reading for the upcoming Congressional budget debate on the 2018 NPR and its specific recommendations ... well-informed, insightful, balanced, and filled with common sense."

– Frank Klotz

former Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration

March 7, 2018

Arms Control NOW

U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control Watch, March 13, 2020

Authored by Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos on March 13, 2020

Trump Officials Remain Bullish on Trilateral Arms Control and Bearish on New START President Donald Trump said recently that he is open to meeting with the other heads of state of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to discuss arms control and will soon put forward a trilateral arms control proposal with Russia and China. But China continues to express its opposition to trilateral talks and has yet to respond to U.S. overtures to begin a bilateral strategic security dialogue. At the same time, the U.S. administration continues to deflect questions about its stance on the New...

IAEA Head Notes No New Breaches by Iran | P4+1 and Iran Nuclear Deal Alert

Authored by Kelsey Davenport and Julia Masterson on February 13, 2020

IAEA Head Notes No New Breaches by Iran Iran has not taken any further steps to breach the 2015 nuclear deal after announcing its fifth violation in early January, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, told reporters in Washington Feb. 5 . Experts have taken this to mean that Iran has not installed additional centrifuges nor further increased its enrichment level after announcing Jan. 5 that it would no longer be bound by any operational limits of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Grossi stressed...

Making the Case for New START

Authored by Daryl Kimball, Kathy Crandall Robinson, and Tony Fleming on February 10, 2020

In less than a year—on February 5, 2021—the last remaining treaty limiting the world’s two nuclear arsenals is due to expire unless the U.S. president decides to take up Russia’s offer to extend it for another five years. To date, however, the Trump administration has yet to officially decide on the future of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Instead, Trump is talking about a new and more ambitious treaty involving all types of U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons as well as those of China. These are worthy goals, but a new treaty cannot be concluded before 2021. Extending New START is the...

North Korea Reiterates End to Test Moratorium

Authored by Kelsey Davenport and Julia Masterson on January 30, 2020

North Korea Reiterates End to Test Moratorium North Korea will no longer observe its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile testing, a counselor to Pyongyang’s mission at the United Nations in Geneva said Jan. 21 . The April 2018 moratorium was designed to “build confidence with the United States,” but given that Washington “remains unchanged in its ambition to block the development” of North Korea, Pyongyang has “no reason to be unilaterally bound” by its past commitment, Ju Yong Chol said. The statement did not indicate if or when North Korea would resume nuclear or long-...

Russia Warns Time Running Out for New START | U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control Watch

Authored by Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos on January 23, 2020

Russia Warns Time Running Out for New START Russian officials repeated in late December and early January President Vladimir Putin’s call for extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) as soon as possible, though Washington continues to remain silent on the future of the accord, which is scheduled to expire in just over 12 months. Acting Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov commented in a Dec. 26 interview that “we might end up under intense time pressure” if the Trump administration maintains its silence on the future of the treaty. “We would not like to be forced to...

As 2020 Dawns, Disarmament Treaties Face Financial Hardship

Authored by Owen LeGrone on January 17, 2020

The last decade has been a trying period, by any stretch of the imagination, for multilateralism and international peace. Recent years have seen some agreements rejected by signatories and others lapse, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty being only the latest example. However, as the United Nations system staggers under increasing levels of debt, a small group of other multilateral treaties, many of which focus on disarmament topics, are threatened for another reason: lack of money. As these treaties find their meetings cut or canceled, and their organizations face losing the...

Iran Announces New Nuclear Deal Breach | P4+1 and Iran Nuclear Deal Alert

Authored by Kelsey Davenport and Julia Masterson on January 9, 2020

Iran Announces New Nuclear Deal Breach Iran announced its fifth breach of the 2015 nuclear deal Jan. 5, stating that it “discards the last key component of its operational limitations” put in place by agreement. In the Jan. 5 statement Iran said its nuclear program “no longer faces any operational restrictions,” however Foreign Minister Javad Zarif did say that Iran will still continue to “fully cooperate” with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Zarif’s statement implies that Tehran intends to abide by the additional monitoring and verification measures put in place by the nuclear...

Putin Puts Ball in Trump’s Court on New START Extension | U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control Watch, December 2019

Authored by Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos on December 20, 2019

Putin Puts Ball in Trump’s Court on New START Extension Russian President Vladimir Putin made clear this month that Moscow is open to unconditionally extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), but the Trump administration remains undecided about the future of the accord. “Russia is willing to immediately, as soon as possible, before the year is out, renew this treaty without any preconditions,” Putin told a meeting of defense ministry officials. He noted that Moscow has not received a response from Washington to its proposal to renew the treaty. Putin reiterated his offer...

Steering the Course Towards a Safer 2020

Authored by Daryl Kimball, Elana Simon, and Tony Fleming on December 16, 2019

Over the course of 2019, the international arms control and nonproliferation system took some serious hits, and the coming year looks to be just as challenging, if not more so. Foundational arms control and disarmament treaties are in jeopardy, the world’s nuclear-armed states are pursuing new weapons capabilities, and rising tensions between major powers are increasing the risk of conflict. These are serious challenges. But in 2020 you can rely on the Arms Control Association to steer the course toward safety. Our dedicated professional staff and high-powered Board members will work to seize...

Looking Ahead 2020: Arms Trade Issues Should See Center Stage in the U.S. Election

Authored by Jeff Abramson on December 16, 2019

A version of this post was the first of a series of short blog posts , to be published by the ACA's Forum on the Arms Trade, which will feature perspectives from Forum experts on weapons use, the arms trade, and security assistance in 2020. The "should" in the title to this post is not an admonition, but rather a prediction. And a bold one. An impeachment effort is now underway related to conditions placed on security assistance to Ukraine. Plus, four Presidential vetoes were used in 2019: one to stop Congressional assertion of war powers in relation to the war in Yemen, and three to override...