The Limits of Breakout Estimates in Assessing Iran’s Nuclear Program

An Issue Brief by the Arms Control Association Issue Brief

By Kelsey Davenport, Director for Nonproliferation Policy, with Julia Masterson, Research Assistant

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) –Over the past year, Iran has taken several troubling steps to breach the limits that were imposed on its nuclear program by the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). While Iran’s violations of the accord appear to be carefully calibrated to create leverage in response to the Trump administration’s 2018 withdrawal from the accord and reimposition of sanctions, Iran’s actions have rekindled the debate about how quickly Iran could “breakout,” or produce enough nuclear material for a bomb. [2020–08-10]

The Limits of Breakout Estimates in Assessing Iran’s Nuclear ProgramRead More »

CTBTO ES on 75th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki

[2020-08-10]

CTBTO ES on 75th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima & NagasakiRead More »

Looking Back at the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Nuclear Attacks on 75th Anniversary

Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf

Photo: Side view of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 2.5

The writer is former Head of Nuclear Verification and Security Policy at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, former Alternate Head of the IAEA Delegation to the nuclear non-proliferation Treaty (NPT); Senior Advisor on nuclear disarmament to the Chairs at the 2015 NPT Review Conference and 2014 NPT PrepCom; long time Expert with Canada’s NPT delegation until 2000. Personal views are expressed here. The following is an expanded version of comments made at the event, ‘The 75th Anniversary of Atomic Bombing and the United Nations In the Time of COVID-19: Where Do We Stand and What Can Be Done for a Nuclear-Free World?’, organized by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Hiroshima. [2020–08-06 | 12] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF

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Japanese and American Catholics Take on the Bomb

By Drew Christiansen

Writer Drew Christiansen, S. J., is Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Human Development at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. He is the co-editor with Carole Sargent of A World Free from Nuclear Weapons: The Vatican Conference on Disarmament (Georgetown University Press, 2020). facebook.com/disarmnowgeorgetown

WASHINGTON, DC. (IDN) — Nagasaki is the historic centre of Japanese Catholicism. In the 16th century, beginning with the missionary visits of one of the first Jesuits, Francis Xavier, Nagasaki was the focal point of their efforts to bring Christianity to Japan. [2020–08-01 | 11] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN | TURKISH

Japanese and American Catholics Take on the BombRead More »

About us

(Continued from the left column landing page)

It is a project of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate Group with IDN as the Flagship Agency in partnership with Soka Gakkai International in Consultative Status with ECOSOC.

It aims to expand the involvement of ordinary citizens worldwide in efforts toward making nuclear weapons obsolete by shedding light on the issues involved from the professional global network of IDN and beyond.

The target audiences for the multilingual articles emerging from the project are: the public reached through the traditional and new media including NGOs, CSOs, UNOs, key leaders, legislators and decision-makers globally and in countries that feel the necessity to review the very concept of non-proliferation as advocated by the nuclear-weapon states.

The significance of the Project is underscored by the fact that:

In 2017, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was adopted by the UN General Assembly and opened for signature at the UN, marking a turning point in the global history of efforts to achieve peace and disarmament. Attention is now focused on pushing for an early entry into force and universalization of the Treaty.

Nuclear weapon states have been fiercely opposing the Treaty arguing that it ignores the reality of vital security considerations, and indicating that hey would not engage with the Ban Treaty.

The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review announced in February against the backdrop of the Korean Peninsular crisis, laden with a potential nuclear confrontation, will have a direct impact on discussions on Nuclear Ban Treaty, drawing attention to policy trends in concerned countries toward peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who has warned that “Global anxieties about nuclear weapons are the highest since the Cold War” and also announced intention “to explore opportunities to generate a new direction and impetus for the global disarmament agenda“.

Complete elimination of nuclear weapons is increasingly becoming a global collaborative effort calling for relentless commitment and robust solidarity between States, International Organizations and Civil Society. In order to secure a foothold for a world free from nuclear weapons, it is necessary to expand the involvement of citizens worldwide. This is precisely what this project aims at.

A Warrior for Nuclear Peace Dies But His Message Reverberates

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

Photo: Bruce Blair. Credit: Matt Stanley, mattstanleyphoto.com

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Bruce Blair, one of the great unsung heroes of the nuclear bomb age, died on July 19 at the age of 72. In his twenties he had been an intercontinental nuclear rocket launch officer, spending his days or nights deep down in a below-ground bunker waiting for the signal to fire and obliterate the cities and their people, the workers of all classes, pensioners and the totally innocent children of western Russia. [2020–07-28 | 10] ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | THAI

A Warrior for Nuclear Peace Dies But His Message ReverberatesRead More »

Political and Security Implications of a New NATO Strategy in the Making

By Xanthe Hall

The writer belongs to IPPNW Germany. This article first appeared on IPPNW Peace & Health Blog. Please click here for the original link.

Photo: Chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joe Dunford, at NATO HQ in Brussels, 2018. Credit: Dominique Pineiro / public domain

BERLIN (IDN) – You could be excused for having missed the fact that NATO is in the process of updating its nuclear strategy, including substantial and significant steps. These include technologically more ambitious weapons that can be used more easily. This is the implementation of a decision made at the NATO Warsaw Summit in 2016 to revise nuclear strategy. [2020–07-17]

Political and Security Implications of a New NATO Strategy in the MakingRead More »

Trump and Senator Cotton Embrace Enhanced Testing & Face Kilotons of Surprises

Viewpoint by Robert Kelley

VIENNA (IDN) – There are growing rumours that the United States is considering carrying out a nuclear test in the near future. Legislation introduced in the United States Senate suggests that this may not be an idle threat. The language in the recent amendment reads: “carry out projects related to reducing the time required to execute a nuclear test if necessary,” This threat indicates a complete lack of understanding of the political and technical difficulties such a move would introduce. [2020–07-14 | 09] HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF

Trump and Senator Cotton Embrace Enhanced Testing & Face Kilotons of SurprisesRead More »

Young Leaders Across Northeast Asia Tackle Challenging Security Questions

By UNODA

Photo: Northeast Asian youth leaders from the “Perspectives for Dialogues in Northeast Asia”, organized in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in June 2019. Credit: UNODA

NEW YORK (IDN) – The nine-member youth Steering Committee for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in Northeast Asia engaged with United Nations staff earlier in July on a range of pressing international security challenges.

Their webinar discussions were part of a wider learning series organized by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) to help the young leaders prepare for an upcoming meeting in the Republic of Korea on disarmament and non-proliferation topics. [2020–07-10]

Young Leaders Across Northeast Asia Tackle Challenging Security QuestionsRead More »

Rethinking Security: Nuclear Sharing in Europe in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Angelika Claussen

Image credit: ICAN

Dr. Claussen, a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy, is IPPNW’s Regional Vice President for Europe. This article first appeared on IPPNW Peace & Health Blog. Please click here for the original link.

BERLIN (IDN) – The global COVID-19 pandemic is making it clear that governments must rethink security. Our future challenges lie in establishing a good healthcare system in every country of our planet, in fighting climate change and in achieving the sustainable development goals defined by the United Nations. [2020–07-07]

Rethinking Security: Nuclear Sharing in Europe in the Time of the COVID-19 PandemicRead More »

More Articles...

• 1. The Challenge of Nuclear Submarine Proliferation
• 2. Mayors for Peace Say the Danger of Nuclear War Is Real and Growing
• 3. Middle East Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone, Long Elusive, is Making Progress, say Experts
• 4. Die Eliminierung von Interkontinentalraketen würde die Chancen eines globalen nuklearen Holocaust erheblich verringern
• 5. Elimination of ICBMs Would Greatly Reduce the Chances of a Global Nuclear Holocaust