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Articles on Nuclear proliferation

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A U.S. Air Force fighter jet takes off from RAF Lakenheath in the U.K. in 2018. American nuclear weapons may soon be hosted there. (Shutterstock)

Are American nuclear weapons returning to the United Kingdom?

NATO members, particularly those in eastern Europe, fear a Russian invasion of their territory. By stationing some of its nuclear weapons in the U.K. again, the U.S. could ease those fears.
A cascade of gas centrifuges at a U.S. enrichment plant in Piketon, Ohio, in 1984. Iran is using similar technology to enrich uranium. U.S. Department of Energy

Enriching uranium is the key factor in how quickly Iran could produce a nuclear weapon – here’s where it stands today

Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons centers on producing weapons-grade uranium. Here’s what reports about Iran enriching uranium indicate about its progress toward the bomb.
Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin meeting in 2001: the Russian president finally congratulated the US president-elect on his election victory on December 15. EPA-EFE/Maxim Shipenkov

Nato-Russia tensions: what a Biden administration can do to lower the temperature

Calls to keep talking are getting louder out of fear of escalation and ultimately war – but why are diplomatic relations so difficult for Nato and Russia?
United Nations Security Council members listen to Iranian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Eshagh Al-Habib, left, during a meeting on Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement, Dec. 12, 2018, at UN headquarters. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Nuclear weapons and Iran’s uranium enrichment program: 4 questions answered

Iran’s leaders are threatening to breach a 2015 agreement that froze their country’s nuclear program. What is uranium enrichment, and what would it mean for Iran’s ability to build nuclear weapons?
Pedestrians in Tokyo pass a television screen broadcasting a report on May 4, 2019 that North Korea has fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast. AP Photo/Koji Sasahara

What geology reveals about North Korea’s nuclear weapons – and what it obscures

North Korea is a major military threat to the US and its Asian allies, but exactly how powerful are its nuclear weapons? An earth scientist explains why it’s hard to answer this question.
Kim Jong Un guides the test-fire of Pukguksong-2 in an undated photo released on Feb. 13, 2017. Reuters/KCNA

Will North Korea sell its nuclear technology?

Kim Jong Un’s regime has already earned millions from the export of arms, missiles, drugs and endangered wildlife products.
Trucks cross the friendship bridge connecting China and North Korea on Sept. 4, 2017. Trump has threatened to cut off trade with countries that deal with North Korea. AP Photo/Helene Franchineau

Why UN sanctions against North Korea’s missile program failed

The international community has been trying to stop North Korea from developing long-range missiles for decades. So what went wrong?

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