Digests and Blog

President Vladimir Putin has chosen the path of destruction instead of diplomacy. The Kremlin’s war on Ukrainian cities, towns, nuclear power stations, hospitals, and civilians is indefensible, illegal, premeditated, and heartbreaking. Making matters worse, Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling is raising the risk of escalation in ways we have not seen since the end of the Cold War. If NATO and Russian military forces become entangled in the fight, the war could widen further and could potentially move to the nuclear level–with catastrophic consequences. Since Putin’s decision to invade…

If Russian President Vladimir Putin’s premeditated, illegal attack on Ukrainian cities, towns, nuclear power stations, hospitals, and civilians wasn’t shocking enough, his recent nuclear saber-rattling is a crude reminder that the risk of nuclear war still looms. To respond effectively, those looking for a safer, saner world must rethink the nuclear deterrence policies and practices that have led the nuclear weapons countries to this point and push them toward new approaches and policies that move the world away from nuclear catastrophe. “Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly…

(UPDATED March 5) As the fate of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal hangs in balance, a new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reveals that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile continues to expand. According to that report, "Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council resolution 2231 (2015), GOV/2022/4, March 3, 2022," Iran is now closer than ever to having enough highly enriched uranium-235 that, when further enriched, would be enough for a nuclear bomb. The deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action…

Inside the Arms Control Association February 2022 The Role of Arms Control in U.S.-Russian Relations The ongoing major Russian military buildup around Ukraine creates the potential for a catastrophic war that can and must be avoided through serious and deft diplomacy. Among the many factors that have led us to this point is the breakdown of important conventional and nuclear arms control agreements that helped bring an end to the first Cold War. These crucial guardrails, including the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, the Open Skies Treaty, the ABM Treaty, and the INF Treaty, are no…

Following the inconclusive round of high-stakes talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials on nuclear arms control, European security, and the crisis in Ukraine last week, a journalist asked National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Jan. 13, “Are all options on the table?” Sullivan replied that if Russia further invaded Ukraine, options that would be employed include severe sanctions on Russia and military aid for Ukraine, as well as “changes in the forces and capabilities that the United States and NATO would deploy to eastern flank allies to reinforce and strengthen the robustness of…

As the eighth round of talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal continues in Vienna, negotiators are struggling to contend with one of Iran’s most difficult demands: a guarantee from Washington that the United States will not withdraw from the deal and reimpose sanctions, as former President Trump did in 2018.Delegations from Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom have gathered in Vienna for eight rounds of talks since April 2021, under the chairmanship of the European Union. The U.S. team is also in Vienna with an aim to negotiate U.S. re-entry to the nuclear deal, known…

The United States and Russia aim to meet early next year for further talks on the future of arms control to follow the expiration of the last remaining agreement on the two countries’ nuclear arsenals in four years. This will mark the third round of the bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January and met in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June. The first round took place in July, and the second occurred in September, during which two working groups were formed. These groups are officially named the “Working Group on…

Inside the Arms Control Association December 2021 As I look back on my 20 years leading this organization and look forward to preparing the Arms Control Association to tackle tomorrow’s security challenges, it is more apparent than ever that achieving meaningful progress demands persistence. The last few years show we cannot take past arms control gains for granted. We are entering a dangerous new phase in the struggle against The Bomb. We all must redouble our efforts. We’ve made progress, yes. But the nuclear weapons threat has certainly not gone away.  The past decade has seen a…

Iran’s hardline approach to recent negotiations in Vienna raised further concerns about prospects for diplomatic efforts to restore the 2015 nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).Talks resumed Nov. 29 in Vienna after a five-month hiatus, during which Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took office and assembled his team. While the Raisi administration’s rhetoric ahead of the negotiations suggested a harder line than his predecessor, Iran’s demands for "sweeping changes" to the text of the agreement and its disinterest in honoring progress made during the…

Full restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran remains the best possible option to avert a nuclear crisis and provide Tehran with sanctions relief, but the Raisi administration’s approach to talks and the country’s growing nuclear program risks jeopardizing those efforts. When talks resumed in Vienna Nov. 29 after a five-month hiatus, Iran rejected most of the hard-fought progress made during the first six rounds of negotiations from April-June and raised new demands incompatible with the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). While these proposals are unlikely…