In The News

Iran-US Tensions: Financial Times

Andrew England and Najmeh Bozorgmehr May 9, 2019
Iran and the United States test each other. The US president withdrew from the 2015 accord to limit Iran’s nuclear weapons development, increased sanctions and most recently dispatched a aircraft carrier group to the region after suggesting that Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq threaten US troops. Iran’s president suggested that the country could step back from the accord, too. International...

The US, Iran Inch Toward War: Syndication Bureau

Dnyanesh Kamat May 6, 2019
Donald Trump rejected expensive foreign wars during the US presidential campaign, yet a target seems to be on Iran. The US walked away from the international deal to limit Iran’s nuclear weapons program, ended waivers for nations that import Iranian oil, designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organizaiton and strives to push Iran’s exports to zero. The United States has made no...

North Korea’s Overconfidence: Korea Times

Kim Yoo-chul May 2, 2019
North Korea may be counting too much on its nuclear weapons program and getting its way through “negotiation through strength,” explains Kim Yoo-chul for the Korea Times. An opening for normalization of relations provided by South Korea and the United States will only last so long, suggests South Korea analysts, with professor of international relations Leif-Eric Easley suggesting that holding...

North Korea Tests New Weapon, Pompeo: ABC News

Karma Allen April 18, 2019
North Korea’s Kim Jong-un is nothing short of audacious in his dealings with the United States as a world superpower. The dictator lured the US president into two summits, then balked on taking any steps toward agreement for reducing North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. Amid discussions about a third summit, the country claims to have tested a new tactical guided weapon and called for removal...

US-NK Summit Fails: Korea Herald

Choi He-suk February 28, 2019
A summit, with the aim of curtailing North Korea’s nuclear-weapons ambitions, ended early with no agreement. The Korea Herald reports that North Korea had offered to denuclearize partially if the United States lifted sanctions, and Donald Trump refused. Other reports suggest North Korean officials do not agree with that description. A draft agreement went unsigned. That draft declared an end to...

Another Cuban Missile Crisis: Reuters

Andrew Osborn February 21, 2019
The United States withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and Russia soon followed. Both nations claim the other violated terms. Russia opposes deployment of such missiles in Europe, and Vladimir Putin claims that Russia holds the edge when it comes to first-strike capability, reports Reuters. Putin referred to the Cuban Missile Crisis, which “erupted in 1962 when Moscow...

Saudi Nuclear Bomb Ambitions: New Europe

February 21, 2019
US Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette assured European allies at the Munich Security Conference that the US does not support development of a nuclear bomb by Saudi Arabia. “Saudi Arabia has refused to rule out weapons-grade uranium enrichment, saying the Kingdom may need to consider its own nuclear weapons programme in order to counter its arch-enemy, Iran’s, perceived nuclear ambitions...