Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, April 9th 2026

Posted: 9th April 2026

April 9, 2026

The Bushehr nuclear power plant with its dome-shaped reactor building in the background. On April 4, a suspected Israeli attack reportedly killed an Iranian guard near the Bushehr nuclear plant and forced the evacuation of Russian personnel who work at the plant. (Credit: Hossein Ostovar / Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Trump’s ‘a whole civilization will die’ threat against Iran exploits long-standing ambiguity over what Washington considers legal in war

“Whether or not the war in Iran ultimately leads to catastrophic radiological consequences in the region, the template for nuclear piracy is now firmly in place, having been transposed from Ukraine to the Middle East,” write Ali Alkisand Ludovica Castelli. Read more.

A conflict of attrition: Iran’s bet on asymmetric warfare

“Thus far, Iran’s warfare has to some degree degraded American and Israeli capabilities, increased pressure on Washington, and hampered the global economy [...] But Tehran’s strategy has serious limits,” writes Spenser A. Warren. Read more.

Three-quarters of South Koreans want nuclear weapons. One variable could decide the rest

There’s record public support in South Korea for developing a nuclear weapon, writes Gabriella Wangmu Zhaxi. But American action against the funders of North Korea’s arsenal could still turn the tide. Read more.

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UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENT

Targeting Nuclear Power

This coming Monday, April 13, the Bulletin will host a virtual panel on growing concerns around nuclear safety, as well as broader questions around nuclear power plants becoming targets in war, particularly in Iran and Ukraine, and the implications for the future of nuclear energy. Register here.

UPCOMING EVENT

Bombshell: NYC Documentary Screening and Discussion

Eighty years after the atomic bombings of Japan, PBS documentary Bombshellinvestigates how the US government co-opted the press and censored first-hand reporting in order to control the narrative about the bomb. Join the Bulletin, the Stanley Center for Peace and Security, and the Developing Story Project for a screening and discussion at Fordham University’s Department of Communication and Media Studies. RSVP for this free event here.

IN THE NEWS

Chicago 2050: Daniel Holz writes about pursuing progress and avoiding doomsday

“Few cities are as deeply tied to existential risks as Chicago,” writes chair of the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board, Daniel Holz, for the Chicago Tribune’s “Chicago 2050” series. Read more.

Recent articles

• Responsibility in scholarship: a challenge to historian Benjamin Wilson and the Bulletin
• What should be done about Iran’s potential secret chemical and biological weapons programs?
• How the Iran War undermines the nuclear nonproliferation regime
• Outdated language obscures the risks of autonomous weapons
• The keys to a better gain-of-function policy: Accountability and a ‘fair and rigorous’ risk assessment

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It’s kind of hard to fathom. It’s even hard to speak about it. To be talking about the worst year [of snowpack] that I’ve ever seen, we’ve ever seen in my lifetime? We don’t exactly know what’s on the horizon, and that’s concerning.”

— Brian Domonkos, supervisor of the Colorado Snow Survey, “Why scientists still use a milk scale and antique aluminum tubes to track Colorado’s record-low snowpack,” CPR News

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