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Articles on Nuclear non-proliferation

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Visitors to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima view a large-scale panoramic photograph of the destruction following the 1945 bombing. Carl Court/Getty Images

Hiroshima attack marks its 78th anniversary – its lessons of unnecessary mass destruction could help guide future nuclear arms talks

The United States and Russia, the two biggest nuclear powers, have no imminent plans for talks on a nuclear deal. That should change, writes a former US diplomat.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during the 2022 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons at the United Nations on Aug. 1, 2022. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Why are nuclear weapons so hard to get rid of? Because they’re tied up in nuclear countries’ sense of right and wrong

Policymakers often think of their decisions about nuclear weapons as moral, a nuclear ethicist explains – which is key to understanding their motives.
A caution sign marks the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Wash., where plutonium for nuclear weapons was made. Jeff T. Green/Getty Images

Russia is sparking new nuclear threats – understanding nonproliferation history helps place this in context

Despite decades of progress on nonproliferation, Russia’s new threats of nuclear strikes bring to mind that convincing countries to reduce their nuclear weapons has long been very difficult.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, left, spokesman for Iran’s atomic energy agency, listens to a man wearing a surgical mask, an official with the Ahmadi Roshan nuclear site in Natanz, Iran, during a news conference on May 20, 2019. IRIB News Agency via AP

What is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty? Here’s why it’s still important

Nearly 50 years old, the treaty has been signed by 190 countries – more than any other arms limitation treaty. But now Iran is threatening to withdraw.
Israel has a powerful air force — and it’s not afraid to strike neighbors it perceives as a national security threat. AP Photo/Ariel Schalit

Israel could strike first as tensions with Iran flare

The US isn’t the only country considering a military response to Iranian aggression.
The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration supervises the removal of 68 kilograms of highly enriched uranium (enough for two nuclear weapons) from the Czech Republic in 2013. NNSA/Flickr

Lesson one for Rick Perry: The Energy Department doesn’t produce much energy

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has experience with energy, but if confirmed as secretary of energy, he should get ready to learn a lot about DOE’s big jobs: nuclear security and basic science research.

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