CND's Press Round-Up - 14th July 2021
Posted: 14th July 2021
Please find today’s press round up below. Thank you to all for their continued help and support.
Nuclear Weapons
The U.S. produces a revised warhead for its Trident missiles, whilst activity around the Iran nuclear negotiations again begins to pick up pace.
Nuclear Weapons ‘Modernisation’
The first W88 Alteration 370 warhead has been produced at a plant in Texas, according to The Drive website. The production of the war, after eleven years in development, could have important consequences for the British nuclear weapons programme, since it is loaded into U.S. Navy submarine-fired Trident D5 ballistic missiles. The U.S. National Nuclear Safety Administration makes the very conservative claim that the replacement of current W88s with the new model will cost c.$2.8 billion. The warhead development forms part of a wider nuclear ‘modernisation’ effort, which is projected to cost $1.5 trillion over the next thirty years.
Iran Nuclear Deal
The indirect negotiations in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal remain on hold, with the U.S. saying that ‘only Iran can determine when talks will resume’, Reuters reports. In related news, the EU has provided humanitarian aid to Iran, in what some will see as a confidence building gesture. Bloomberg reports that in a statement announcing the move, the EU said that ‘over compliance of pharmaceutical and shipping companies as well as banks with U.S. sanctions, despite humanitarian exemptions’.
The Jerusalem Post reports that outgoing Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told the country’s Parliament on Monday that the Biden administration is offering a range of sanctions relief in return for compliance with the JCPoA. Right-wingers in the U.S. as well as the Israeli government have been strongly critical of the mooted sanctions relief. By some estimates, $90 billion would become available to Iran more or less immediately after sanctions relief, with a further $50 billion through a greater ability to sell oil.
Anti-war
The demolition of Palestinian homes continues in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem
The Morning Star reports on the continued destruction of Palestinian properties in the Silwan area of Jerusalem. Similar actions in Sheikh Jarrah sparked off Palestinian resistance and the conflict in Gaza in May. In large parts of East Jerusalem, the Israeli occupation forces have not issued a single building permit since 1967, making it incredibly difficult for Palestinians to build or repair their homes. The UN says that 421 Palestinian-owned properties have been demolished in the West Bank this year, displacing around 600 people.
Nuclear Power
The nuclear industry expresses trepidation over the slow pace of construction of new nuclear power plans, as it attempts to claim the mantle of carbon reduction.
Nuclear Power – UK
The Financial Times reports on the future of UK nuclear policy. According to the paper, the closure of Dungeness B seven years early has produced a sense of urgency in policymakers, with legislation coming up in the autumn to finance Sizewell C. Proponents of the project argue that it could provide relatively low carbon electricity for around six million households. The Government is reportedly worried about an ‘emissions gap’, as older nuclear plants come off-line before their replacements come into operation, producing a greater dependence on high carbon sources of energy. Only one nuclear power plant is currently under construction, after plans for additional ones in Wales and Cumbria were scrapped. Critics of nuclear, however, point out that emissions have continued to fall even as nuclear capacity declines, with Stephen Thomas, emeritus professor of energy policy at the University of Greenwich saying ‘If there was [a capacity issue], what good is Sizewell going to do given it won’t come on line until 2034 according to EDF?’
With best wishes,
Michael Muir
Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The U.S. produces a revised warhead for its Trident missiles, whilst activity around the Iran nuclear negotiations again begins to pick up pace.
Nuclear Weapons ‘Modernisation’
The first W88 Alteration 370 warhead has been produced at a plant in Texas, according to The Drive website. The production of the war, after eleven years in development, could have important consequences for the British nuclear weapons programme, since it is loaded into U.S. Navy submarine-fired Trident D5 ballistic missiles. The U.S. National Nuclear Safety Administration makes the very conservative claim that the replacement of current W88s with the new model will cost c.$2.8 billion. The warhead development forms part of a wider nuclear ‘modernisation’ effort, which is projected to cost $1.5 trillion over the next thirty years.
Iran Nuclear Deal
The indirect negotiations in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal remain on hold, with the U.S. saying that ‘only Iran can determine when talks will resume’, Reuters reports. In related news, the EU has provided humanitarian aid to Iran, in what some will see as a confidence building gesture. Bloomberg reports that in a statement announcing the move, the EU said that ‘over compliance of pharmaceutical and shipping companies as well as banks with U.S. sanctions, despite humanitarian exemptions’.
The Jerusalem Post reports that outgoing Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told the country’s Parliament on Monday that the Biden administration is offering a range of sanctions relief in return for compliance with the JCPoA. Right-wingers in the U.S. as well as the Israeli government have been strongly critical of the mooted sanctions relief. By some estimates, $90 billion would become available to Iran more or less immediately after sanctions relief, with a further $50 billion through a greater ability to sell oil.
Anti-war
The demolition of Palestinian homes continues in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem
The Morning Star reports on the continued destruction of Palestinian properties in the Silwan area of Jerusalem. Similar actions in Sheikh Jarrah sparked off Palestinian resistance and the conflict in Gaza in May. In large parts of East Jerusalem, the Israeli occupation forces have not issued a single building permit since 1967, making it incredibly difficult for Palestinians to build or repair their homes. The UN says that 421 Palestinian-owned properties have been demolished in the West Bank this year, displacing around 600 people.
Nuclear Power
The nuclear industry expresses trepidation over the slow pace of construction of new nuclear power plans, as it attempts to claim the mantle of carbon reduction.
Nuclear Power – UK
The Financial Times reports on the future of UK nuclear policy. According to the paper, the closure of Dungeness B seven years early has produced a sense of urgency in policymakers, with legislation coming up in the autumn to finance Sizewell C. Proponents of the project argue that it could provide relatively low carbon electricity for around six million households. The Government is reportedly worried about an ‘emissions gap’, as older nuclear plants come off-line before their replacements come into operation, producing a greater dependence on high carbon sources of energy. Only one nuclear power plant is currently under construction, after plans for additional ones in Wales and Cumbria were scrapped. Critics of nuclear, however, point out that emissions have continued to fall even as nuclear capacity declines, with Stephen Thomas, emeritus professor of energy policy at the University of Greenwich saying ‘If there was [a capacity issue], what good is Sizewell going to do given it won’t come on line until 2034 according to EDF?’
With best wishes,
Michael Muir
Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament