• Breakthrough in next gen nuclear detectors

    Researchers have long struggled to develop radiation detectors that can spot a nuclear device hidden away in a shielded case, but a recent breakthrough could change all that

  • Scientists develop a dirty bomb detection system

    As part of a £3 million international project funded by the European Commission, scientists at the University of Liverpool are developing a mobile detection system for nuclear materials that could prevent the construction of atomic weapons and dirty bombs

  • Monitoring nukes with social media

    Acting Undersecretary of State for Arms Control Rose Gottemoeller is actively trying to find a way to incorporate social media tools to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation and keep fissile materials out of the hands of terrorists; the department wants to have crowdsourcing tools developed that could help ordinary citizens monitor a government’s nuclear activity and whether it was adhering to its stated promises

  • DHS secretary expresses “concerns” over Iranian threats

    Following recent attacks on Israeli officials overseas thought to be perpetrated by Iran and its proxies, DHS secretary Janet Napolitano expressed her concern over potential threats from Iran to domestic targets; speaking before a House panel, Fox Newsreported, Napolitano said the potential for an Iranian attack is “a situation that bears watching.”

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  • Israel takes out another Iranian nuclear scientist

    Yet another Iranian scientist associated with Iran’s nuclear weapons program has been killed earlier today: Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, who was the deputy director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, was killed when a “sticky” bomb was attached to his car by two men on a motorcycle; in the last two years, Israel’s Mossad has taken out four leading Iranian nuclear scientists; there are reports that this latest strike was a joint Mossad-MEK operation

  • New way to detect underground nuclear tests

    A new analysis of satellite data from the late 1990s documents for the first time the “uplift” of ground above a site of underground nuclear testing, providing researchers a new tool for analyzing the strength of underground nuclear detonation

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  • The Iran decision: the pros and cons of the military option -- I

    Short of unforeseen developments, the real decision U.S., Israeli, and European leaders will face in 2012 is not whether to use military means or other means to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons or the capability to produce them; the real decision, rather, will be between using military means to stop Iran’s confident march toward the bomb, and accepting the reality of a nuclear-armed Iran; those who support a military attack on Iran argue that the choice is thus between two very bad options: a nuclear armed Iran or a war to prevent it from going nuclear; each of these options has its costs, but the costs of allowing Iran to become a nuclear weapon state far outweigh the costs of using a military attack to prevent it from becoming one

  • The Israeli military prepares for a new type of war

    The Israel Defense Force (IDF) has created a new military command – the Strategic Depth Command; this new command, and the new, commando-heavy, look of the IDF’s higher echelon, should tell us that Israel is preparing for a new type of war; adversaries of Israel who have been entertaining the thought that sheer distance from Israel would offer them some protection, may want to think again

  • Yet another mysterious explosion in an Iranian nuclear facility

    A powerful explosion rattled Iran’s third-largest city Isfahan early Monday evening Iran’s time (late morning EST); a major nuclear weapons-related facility is located eight miles from Isfahan; the facility is used for processing uranium so it can be fed into uranium enrichment centrifuges; the massive blast is the latest in a series of mysterious explosions in Iran during the past two years – explosions which not only destroyed military facilities and development centers, but which also wrecked natural gas transport facilities, oil refineries, bridges, and other infrastructure assets; the blasts have caused dozens of deaths, disrupted Iran’s nuclear weapons program, and inflicted damage on key infrastructure

  • Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak on Iran, U.S., and war

    Israeli analysts note that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have been pushing for a military action against Iran, but that they were thwarted by senior officials in the Israeli national security establishment; with these officials retiring, it appears that Netanyahu and Barak may get their way; On Tuesday, Barak gave a wide-ranging interview to Kol Israel radio station, in which he addressed this and other Iran-related issues

  • Rumor of war: Is Israel about to attack Iran?

    There is an increasingly heated debate in Israel, accompanied by leaks from high ups in the government, about a coming Israeli military attack on Iran; four developments have created a climate more hospitable to an Israeli military action: the progress Iran has made in its effort to build nuclear weapons — and the exposure of this progress in an IAEA report due out this week; changes at the top of the Israeli national security establishment — changes which saw individuals more favorable to an attack on Iran replace individuals who were adamantly opposed to military action; growing understanding between Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan; and the coming elections in the United States; these developments have convinced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense minister Ehud Barak — both proponents of an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities — that a window has been opened for an Israeli military action against Iran

  • U.S. looks to keep Libyan WMD scientists away from terrorists

    With Libyan rebels consolidating their hold over the country, the United States is looking to restart a State Department program designed to keep top Libyan biological and nuclear scientists from working for terrorist organizations or hostile nations; Libya’s new leaders have expressed their interest in working with the United States to keep track of Libyan WMD scientists and on other counter-proliferation programs, but the interim government has yet formally to respond to U.S. requests

  • NNSA, AFRICOM in WMD workshop in East Africa

    The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) concluded a week-long border security workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as part of a joint effort to enhance security at ports and borders in the region

  • Two radiation generators help protect U.S.

    One aspect of a nuclear explosion— the electro-magnetic pulse, or EMP — was much discussed during the cold war: scientists argued that exploding a nuclear bomb in the skies high above the United States would create an EMP which would disrupt electronic equipment and paralyze the nation; two remarkable pulsed-power machines used to test the U.S. defenses against atomic weapons have surpassed milestones at Sandia National Laboratories

  • Combating the financing of terrorism

    Terrorist organizations rely on financing and support networks to sustain operations and launch attacks. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has developed a sophisticated and comprehensive approach to identify, disrupt, and deter the funding networks of terrorist organizations