CND's Press Round-Up - 10th May 2021

Posted: 10th May 2021

Dear all,

Please find today’s press round up below. Thank you to all for their continued help and support.

Nuclear Weapons

Speculation mounds over whether the Iran nuclear deal can be delivered before June’s presidential elections whilst more nuclear convoys are spotted in Scotland.

Iran Nuclear Deal
 
The New York Times has an article examining the prospects for the Iran nuclear deal. The authors of the piece point to Iranian insistence on retaining advanced nuclear-fuel production equipment and U.S. demands for a subsequent deal on Iranian missiles and regional policy are barriers to the conclusion of the Vienna talks. Even if the JCPoA is successfully restored at Vienna, they say, the Biden administration will immediately push for more talks on further deals. They also flag up the designation by the U.S. of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organisation as a source of real contention.
 
U.K. Nuclear Convoys
 
Local press carries a report on convoys travelling through Glasgow en route from the Coulport base, based on information passed to them by Nukewatch. The group says the convoy was composed of four nuclear warhead carrying vehicles, ‘several’ police cars and a fire engine. A 26 vehicle nuclear convoy had been spotted near the city back in September.

Anti-war

The remnants of a Chinese rocket fell into the Indian ocean whilst U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan heats.

Chinese Rocket Launch
 
The Guardian carries a piece on responses to the Long March 5B rocket launch. The Chinese Manned Space Engineering Office said that debris landed in the Indian Ocean west of the Maldives. Senior NASA officials criticised China for not meeting ‘responsible standards regarding their space debris’. An initial test was conducted in May 2020, with debris damaging buildings in the Ivory Coast. The rocket is designed to put into orbit components for a permanent Chinese space station.
 
Iranian Strategy in Iraq
 
Al Jazeera has a piece by the Middle East analyst Kamaran Palani on the actions of Iranian-supported paramilitaries in northern Iraq. With ongoing disputes between the Kurdish regional government and the Baghdad central state, Iranian-backed Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMFs) have stepped into the vacuum. This happens in the context of expanded Iranian influence in the country, made possible by the 2003 invasion.
 
U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan
 
As U.S. troops begin their final withdrawal from Afghanistan, they are abandoning large quantities of military gear, according to The Independent.Tens of thousands of metal containers of matériel is being transported by road through Central Asia or via C-17 cargo planes to the U.S. Substantial amounts of equipment will also be transferred to the Afghan government.

Nuclear Power

Nuclear Material-India 
 
Indian police have arrested the son of a scrap dealer in Mumbai who was attempting to sell a uranium rod second-hand. It is unclear how the family gained possession of the uranium. The anti-terrorist department of India’s National Investigation Agency is dealing with the case. India Today has the full story.

With best wishes,

Michael Muir

Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament