CND's Press Round-Up - 31st March 2021

Posted: 1st April 2021

Dear all,

Please find today’s press round up below. A continued thanks to all for your help and support.

Nuclear Weapons

Iran-U.S. Diplomacy
 
Iran has turned down the proposal by U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken which would have seen limited sanctions relief traded for Iran agreeing to stop work on advanced centrifuges and only enrich uranium up to 20% purity, according to the Jerusalem Post. The rejection of the uranium component was unequivocal but there seemed to be a willingness on the part of the Iranian government to negotiate on the centrifuge issue. There has been speculation that Iran now lacks the capacity to construct advanced centrifuges after prolonged, effective sabotage operations in 2020.  


U.S. Nuclear Arms Reduction Policy
 
Sharon Squassoni in an op-ed in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in which she examines the possibilities for reinvigorating U.S. arms control policy. She points out that one source of optimism might be the Interim National Security Strategy Guidance, which explicitly states that, under the Biden administration, the United States will ‘will head off costly arms races and re-establish our credibility as a leader in arms control’. A number of possible ameliorative approaches are identified, including a reduction agreement with Russia on the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads, re-starting negotiations on intermediate-range missiles and trying to create a moratorium on producing fissile material that involves China.

Anti-War

Canadian Arms Trade
 
A coalition of Canadian feminists has written to the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to demand than Canada should stop arms exports to Saudi Arabia. As part of a CAD$ 15 billion deal agreed in 2014, Canada has been supplying armoured vehicles and rifles, amongst other weaponry, to Saudi Arabia. These weapons have then been used in the war in Yemen. The signatories assert that ‘a truly feminist recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic demands’ the blocking of arms shipments to the Kingdom. The full letter can be found here.


Japanese Missile Defence
 
The official thinktank of the Japanese Ministry of Defence has advocated in a recently published report for the country to concentrate its development of high-power microwave and laser-based weapons, according to the Janes specialist website. The National Institute for Defence Studies said that such weapons could be a ‘game-changer’ for the country’s missile defence system, by allowing multiple missiles to be shot down at the same time, whilst reducing the cost of doing so. Japan’s current Mid-Term Defence Program, which covers the period between 2019 and 2023, had previously identified the field as one deserving further research.


Nuclear Power

Nuclear Power-UK
 
The Nuclear Industry Association has claimed that the operation of nuclear power plants in Britain since 1956 has prevented the emission of 2.3 billion tonnes of carbon emissions, according to a report on the Energy Live News website. The NIA alleges that the replacement of coal and gas generation by nuclear saved the ‘total the UK’s entire emissions over a six-year period from 2015 through to 2020’.The head of the NIA is quoted as saying that ‘nuclear has made an enormous contribution to the UK’s fight against climate change’.
 
Explosive material believed to date from the Second World War has been found on the seabed near Hinkley Point C, just north of the power station. Vessels have been warned to avoid the area, according to local press.

With best wishes,

Michael Muir

Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament