Latest news with #nuclearWeapons
The Independent
29-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
UN watchdog and intercepted Iran call undermine Trump's boasts about ending nuke program
Two more blows were dealt on Sunday to the Donald Trump administration image of ruination that supposedly befell Iran's nuclear program as a result of U.S. airstrikes. First, a top official with the United Nations's nuclear watchdog told CBS News that Iran's production capabilities would be able to enrich weapons-grade uranium within a few months, in the event Iran's government orders production of a nuclear-tipped missile. Then, The Washington Post revealed that U.S. intelligence sources intercepted a call between top Iranian officials commenting on the strikes and describing them as less destructive than Tehran was expecting. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt fired back personally in a statement: 'It's shameful that The Washington Post is helping people commit felonies by publishing out-of-context leaks. The notion that unnamed Iranian officials know what happened under hundreds of feet of rubble is nonsense. Their nuclear weapons program is over.' The Independent reached out Sunday for further comment. The administration spun a narrative of total annihilation to describe the extent of damage to Iran's nuclear program this past week after the president ordered strikes on three Iranian facilities on June 21. An initial U.S. intelligence assessment was leaked to the press and caused headaches for the administration as it claimed that Iran's stockpile of uranium was not hit during the attack and that centrifuges at the three sites were mostly intact following the strikes. Officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth angrily scolded reporters after publication of the assessment, which they blamed on an effort to make the president look bad. But questions remain about key parts of the nuclear weapons development process in Iran — including, most crucially, whether the full extent of Iran's nuclear and arms production sites have actually been identified. On Sunday, International Atomic Energy Agency director Rafael Grossi told CBS News that Iran could be producing enriched uranium within a matter of months, explaining that the country's nuclear program did not suffer 'total' destruction — as President Donald Trump explicitly claimed multiple times this past week, and again on Sunday. 'It is clear that there has been severe damage, but it's not total damage, first of all,' Gross saidi. 'And secondly, Iran has the capacities there; industrial and technological capacities. So if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.' But neither Grossi nor The Washington Post 's reporting contradicted one crucial aspect of the intelligence CIA Director John Ratcliffe briefed members of Congress on this past week. Ratcliffe and the U.S. intelligence community maintain that Iran's metal conversion operations centered at Isfahan were wholly or near-completely destroyed, a setback that Ratcliffe maintained this past week would delay Tehran's progress on nuclear weapons development for years, not months. The plants are used for fabricating enriched uranium into metal, a final step in the process before it is ready for testing and use inside of an operational nuclear missile. Isfahan was the only known facility inside Iran conducting this process. An administration official told The Post that the destruction of those capabilities proved that the depiction of events on the intercepted call was 'wrong', adding: 'We know that our weapons were delivered precisely where we wanted them to be delivered and they had the effect that we wanted.' The CIA director also told Congress that U.S. intelligence believes that the vast majority of Iran's enriched uranium was hit during the attack and is now 'buried' at Fordow. Grossi, meanwhile, maintained that it was possible Iran had moved the stockpile. The Times of Israel reported one expert as saying that it was a credible possibility for Iran to have another hidden metal conversion site. Israeli intelligence also concluded that the Iranian program was set back by 'years' due to the extent of the damage, according to The Times of Israel.
CBC
27-06-2025
- Science
- CBC
Nuclear weapons explained
They have only been used 2 times in war CONTENT WARNING: This story contains information about extremely dangerous weapons. Consider reading it with a trusted adult. It's common to have an emotional reaction to the news. ⭐️HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW⭐️ The UN says nuclear weapons are the most destructive bombs ever made. They were used twice in warfare in 1945 and never since then. Nine countries are known or widely believed to have nuclear weapons. Ongoing efforts aim to reduce and eliminate these powerful bombs. Read on to find out more about how. ⬇️⬇️⬇️ With tensions rising in some parts of the globe, you might be hearing the term nuclear weapons in the news. But what are nuclear weapons? And why are they so dangerous? CBC Kids News spoke to some experts to help break down what nuclear arms are and what they mean for the world. How nuclear weapons work Nuclear weapons are devices that use nuclear reactions to power a massive explosion. Nuclear blasts can be millions of times more powerful than other types of bombs, said Rob Hayes, an associate professor of nuclear engineering at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. 'Nuclear weapons are the most dangerous weapons on Earth,' according to the United Nations (UN). Luckily, they are very difficult to make, said Hayes. That's because to make one you need a very specific type of metal. The most common metals used are highly enriched uranium and plutonium. The process of making that material is hard to do and the supplies needed to do it are hard to access. 'It takes some really sophisticated technology,' said Hayes. There are many security measures in place worldwide to track the materials and technology needed to make nuclear bombs, he said. Nuclear weapons have only been used twice The first nuclear bomb was created during the Second World War. The United States was the first country to successfully make one. In 1945, the U.S. dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan, one on Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and another on Nagasaki on Aug. 9. The results were devastating. About 100,000 people were killed instantly by the two bombs, according to some estimates. Thousands more later died of injuries and radiation poisoning. No one has used one in an attack again, but since then, other countries have developed or tried to get their own nuclear weapons. 'That caused this moment where all of a sudden other countries saw how powerful that bomb could be and so they wanted one, too,' said Jessica West, a senior researcher with the peace advocacy group Project Ploughshares in Waterloo, Ontario. Who has nuclear weapons? Currently, nine countries are known or widely believed to have nuclear weapons, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Those nine countries are the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. Israel has never publicly confirmed or denied it has nuclear weapons but it is 'widely understood' by arms control experts that they do, said West. The countries with nuclear weapons are not all friendly with each other. They justify the need for them based on the fact that their enemies have them, said West. The F101B Voodoo fighter jet was designed to carry two 1.5-kiloton atomic warheads. This one is on display at the Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover, Delaware, United States. The planes were used in the 1960s during the Cold War to take photos of missile sites. (Image credit: Gary Fields/The Associated Press) This justification has been going on since the beginning of nuclear weapon capabilities. During the Cold War (1947-1991), the United States and the Soviet Union threatened each other with their nuclear arms. Both sides said that if their enemy deployed nuclear weapons they would do it, too. The theory is known as mutually assured destruction (MAD), basically if you hit me then I will hit you back and we will both be destroyed. 'Nuclear weapons are created with the goal of never using them,' said West. Another term for that way of thinking is called deterrence. What's being done about them? Many groups, including the UN, believe that relying on deterrence isn't enough to keep the world safe. 'I think it's a false belief because nuclear weapons really haven't prevented wars,' said West. The UN says that as long as these bombs exist they pose a danger. They want disarmament, which means getting rid of all nuclear weapons and stopping the ability to make new ones. Anti-nuclear weapon posters and Tshirts are displayed at a Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament booth at a conference in Brighton, United Kingdom, in September 2024. (Image credit: Carlos Jasso/Reuters) One path to disarmament is called non-proliferation. Non-proliferation means stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology. There are several international treaties and agreements that promote non-proliferation and disarmament. For example, 191 states have joined the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, according to the UN. Today there are fewer nuclear weapons in the world than there were at the peak during the Cold War, according to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). But FAS says the pace of reduction has slowed down since the 1990s. 'It's hard because countries that have this weapon are afraid to let it go and other countries want them because they're afraid that those weapons will be used against them,' said West. Despite the challenges, West said she is hopeful because many people are actively working to prevent the spread of nuclear arms. One part of working towards these goals that kids can be involved with is education, said West. 'Talking honestly with young people about nuclear weapons isn't about spreading fear; it's about planting the seeds of responsibility, empathy and hope.'
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Latest: NATO leaders gathering for key summit
NATO member leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, were gathering for a summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday. They are expected to agree upon a new defense spending target of 5% of gross domestic product. But Spain announced that it wouldn't be able to reach the target by the new 2035 deadline, calling it 'unreasonable.' Belgium signaled that it wouldn't get there either, and Slovakia said it reserves the right to decide its own defense spending. On Tuesday, Trump complained that 'there's a problem with Spain. Spain is not agreeing, which is very unfair to the rest of them, frankly.' Here is the latest: UK boosting its nuclear arsenal Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the U.K. will buy 12 U.S.-made F35 fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons and join NATO's shared airborne nuclear mission. The government says it is 'the biggest strengthening of the U.K.'s nuclear posture in a generation.' The U.K. phased out air-dropped atomic weapons after the end of the Cold War, so all of its atomic weapons are submarine-based missiles. The use of nuclear weapons by the U.K. as part of the mission would require the authorization of the alliance's nuclear planning group as well as the U.S. president and British prime minister. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte welcomed the announcement, saying it was 'yet another robust British contribution to NATO.' NATO chief upbeat before summit NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says he's looking forward to what he describes as a 'transformational' summit of NATO leaders as they seek to agree on a huge hike in defense spending. U.S. President Donald Trump was arriving at the summit later Wednesday after raising questions a day earlier about his commitment to NATO's cornerstone mutual defense guarantee. Trump spent the night at a royal palace in The Hague as a guest of Dutch King Willem-Alexander. Spurred by Trump's demands that NATO allies share the burden of defense spending more fairly, leaders are set to pledge to spend 5% of their economic output on defense by 2035, although Spain has said it will not meet that target. Trump insisted Tuesday that 'there's a problem with Spain. Spain is not agreeing, which is very unfair to the rest of them, frankly.' The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Al Jazeera
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Trump: no ‘regime change' in Iran, urges calm after strikes
Trump: no 'regime change' in Iran, urges calm after strikes NewsFeed US President Donald Trump said he does not support regime change in Iran, calling it a path to chaos, and claimed nuclear weapons are 'the last thing on Iran's mind right now.' Israel and Iran are observing a ceasefire after 12 days of hostilities. Video Duration 02 minutes 18 seconds 02:18 Video Duration 01 minutes 59 seconds 01:59 Video Duration 00 minutes 40 seconds 00:40 Video Duration 00 minutes 54 seconds 00:54 Video Duration 02 minutes 37 seconds 02:37 Video Duration 01 minutes 41 seconds 01:41 Video Duration 01 minutes 42 seconds 01:42
The Sun
23-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Labour fails to back Donald Trump's Iran strikes as Keir Starmer's accused of sitting on ‘moral fence'
LABOUR is facing furious demands to get off the 'moral fence' and give full-throated backing to Donald Trump's strikes on Iran. Britain's stance on the escalating conflict was last night slammed as Foreign Secretary David Lammy refused to say if the US stealth raid on the Ayatollah's nuclear bunkers was even legal. 3 3 The Cabinet minister said the UK would not hesitate to 'defend our personnel' in case of attack — but urged the mad mullahs to 'take the off-ramp' by entering into peace talks. Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said: 'The prevention of Iran getting nuclear weapons is a good thing for this country. "But our focus is on diplomacy. "Iran should take the opportunity presented by the US to re-enter talks.' Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said ministers were parroting lines written by pacifist civil servants which were 'designed to not upset anybody or give any views'. She aimed fire at international law-obsessed Attorney General Lord Richard Hermer, blasting: 'I do think it is quite extraordinary the position they found themselves in where the Foreign Secretary is unable to say whether or not he believes that action is lawful.' And Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: 'The British public deserve to know if their government supports degrading the threat of Iran to us and our allies, or whether it is all too happy to sit on the moral fence.' It came as Labour's hard Left MPs urged for all military involvement to be ruled out. Abtisam Mohamed said: 'Will the Foreign Secretary provide reassurance that we will not enter an endless war fuelled by reckless provocateurs?' RACHEL Reeves is demanding a cooling of tensions in the Middle East amid fears British households will be hit by surging oil prices. The Chancellor stressed any energy cost hike will have implications for our economy, especially if the vital Strait of Hormuz sea passage from the Gulf is closed. The intervention came as US President Donald Trump called for cheaper oil prices, demanding a 'drill, baby, drill' policy in America. She said: 'We want de-escalation because it's the right thing for the Middle East, but we also want de-escalation because of the ramifications of conflict in the Middle East for the rest of the world, including the UK.' Her warnings came as she launched the Government's ten year industrial strategy at a factory in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Oil prices hit a five-month high yesterday before falling back. 3
