Nuclear Deal

Russia's Parliament ratifies extension of nuclear arms pact with US

The pact, which is set to expire next week, regulates the amount of strategic nuclear weapons that Kremlin and Washington can deploy. Once signed by President Vladimir Putin, the deal will be extended for five years.

How Iranians feel about the new Biden administration

Many feel much better than they have felt in the last four years under the Trump administration, setting a mood which could count as a serious influence on the upcoming elections in Iran.

Iranian army commandos, paratroopers start drills near mouth of Gulf

Iran’s state TV showed paratroopers landing behind mock enemy lines on the Gulf of Oman and preparing attacks with missile launchers.

Iran will expel UN nuclear inspectors unless sanctions are lifted

Iranian parliament passed a law in November that obliges the government to halt inspections of its nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Is Iran gearing up to take revenge on the US?

Recent statements from within Iran point towards a showdown with the US, but one that hopes to sway domestic politics too.

Iran begins 20% uranium enrichment at underground nuclear site

Iran earlier breached the 2015 nuclear pact’s limit on the purity to which it can enrich uranium to go up to 4.5 percent but enrichment at 20 percent at its Fordow facility is just one technical jump away from weapons-grade levels of 90 percent.

Even in death, Iran’s Soleimani still casts a long shadow

Iran can capitalise on Soleimani's legacy in the short-term, but the Islamic republic has no replacement on the horizon.

Iran nuclear deal parties hopeful US will rejoin pact

As President-elect Joe Biden readies to take office next month, European powers are hopeful the US will return to the pact but Iran has already abandoned limits placed on its nuclear activity laid down in the initial deal.

Iran passes law linking UN nuclear inspections to ease in sanctions

The new law gives 2015 pact’s European signatories two months to reduce sanctions on Iran’s oil and finance sectors, in the absence of which the government will halt UN inspections of its nuclear sites and step up uranium enrichment.

IAEA once again accuses Iran of breaching nuclear deal

United Nations atomic watchdog says Tehran feeds advanced underground centrifuges with uranium gas, breaching 2015 nuclear deal.

What are the major challenges facing Biden in the Middle East?

The President-elect is expected to refocus US policy in the region on multilateralism and normative values, but it could increasingly become tied to domestic concerns.

The world's only remaining nuclear treaty is about to expire

After the fallout of nearly every major nuclear agreement, New START is the last accord keeping the world from slipping back into a Cold War.