All articles tagged with #nuclear
Geneva talks brokered by Oman, aimed at constraining Iran’s nuclear program amid Trump-era threats of force, face stiff hurdles as Iran insists on its right to peaceful enrichment and missiles remain a major sticking point; analysts say the gap between Washington and Tehran is wide, making a durable diplomatic deal uncertain and raising the risk of either a broader war or a fragile compromise.
In his State of the Union, Trump says he prefers a diplomatic solution to the Iran crisis but lays out the case for military action, citing Tehran's alleged support for terrorism, missile development, and a possible nuclear program, as U.S. forces build up in the region and Geneva talks approach.
Russia's Foreign Ministry warned of the risk of a direct clash between nuclear powers and its grave consequences, after the SVR accused Britain and France of secretly supplying Ukraine with nuclear weapon parts; France called the claim an outright lie and Britain had no immediate comment.
Iran's foreign minister says enrichment is a sovereign right and diplomacy with the U.S. in Geneva offers a path to a deal, warning against military pressure and vowing to defend Iran if attacked.
Texas has become a leading test bed for small modular reactors (SMRs), with several designs moving from study to test phases and government backing aiming to strengthen the state’s grid as demand could rise sharply by 2050. Projects include Natura Resources’ 1‑MW molten‑salt test in Abilene and Aalo Atomics’ 10‑MW sodium‑cooled units, plus X-energy’s plan for four 80‑MW reactors at Seadrift, backed by federal funding and state legislation. However, critics warn about high upfront costs, licensing timelines, and unresolved nuclear-waste questions, so deployment hinges on cost reductions, financing, and regulatory reform.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Budapest to sign a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Hungary, part of expanding U.S.-Hungary energy cooperation. Hungary aims to develop up to 10 small modular reactors (SMRs) and sign a nuclear fuel deal with Westinghouse for its Paks I plant, in a context of Orbán seeking Trump’s endorsement ahead of the April elections.
A new Nature Communications study suggests a nuclear deflection could be a viable last-resort method to steer an Earthbound asteroid, because iron rocks can strengthen under extreme stress and dissipate energy in real time. Experiments at CERN’s HiRadMat irradiated a Campo del Cielo meteorite sample, revealing non-destructive, real-time deformation including strain-rate dependent damping, which helps explain why some models underestimate asteroid resistance. The work emphasizes that deflection strategies must depend on asteroid composition and may favor a stand-off nuclear detonation near the surface over a direct blast, with more research needed across different asteroid types.
Iran is weighing terms to resume talks with the United States over its nuclear programme, potentially in Turkey, and seeks sanctions relief while showing flexibility on enrichment; Washington has a naval buildup near Iran and hard limits on Tehran’s missile program are central to the dispute, with Tehran insisting no preconditions for talks, and satellite imagery showing repairs at Isfahan and Natanz as talks stall after years of deadlock.
The Department of Energy proposes Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses to build out the U.S. nuclear fuel supply chain from enrichment to recycling, with states invited to host; the initiative could attract up to $50 billion in private investment, reduce dependence on uranium imports and Yucca Mountain, and potentially house advanced reactors and data centers to streamline the entire fuel lifecycle.
A reactor at Japan's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant—the world’s largest—was briefly restarted but shut down again hours later due to an issue with removing control rods; TEPCO said there was no radiation leak. The restart follows a history of safety and alarm-system problems since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, with a broader plan to reactivate some reactors slowly and decommission others amid ongoing public debate about nuclear power in Japan.
Ukraine’s energy crisis deepens as Russia targets power infrastructure; Khmelnytskyi’s nuclear plant has become a linchpin of the grid, with Moscow aiming to disrupt Substations to shut down nuclear energy, while Zaporizhzhia remains under Russian control, raising fears of cooling failures and a Chernobyl-scale disaster despite IAEA monitoring—making the future of Ukraine’s nuclear fleet a central issue in war and possible peace talks.
Japan has restarted reactor 6 at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the world's largest by capacity, marking the first restart since the 2011 Fukushima disaster; only one of seven reactors is back online for now, with the rest still uncertain and a 2030 timeline for the remaining unit. The move comes amid tightened safety standards and ongoing public distrust, as Japan pursues a longer-term push to revive nuclear power to meet energy self-sufficiency goals and 2040 targets, all while facing rising costs and protests.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to carry out strikes against Iran if it resumes its nuclear program, escalating tensions in the region.
Satellite images reveal that China is expanding its nuclear warhead manufacturing facilities and accelerating its nuclear capabilities, indicating a significant increase in its nuclear arsenal and ambitions.
On October 10, 1983, President Reagan watched a screening of the dystopian film 'The Day After' at Camp David, which depicts a nuclear apocalypse in the U.S., highlighting fears of nuclear conflict.