nuclear-news

Nuclear weapons countries determined to keep those weapons

Nuclear weapon-possessing states will not give up arsenals: Think tank   http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/06/03/306894/nuke-states-will-not-give-up-arsenals/  3 June 13,  A Swedish think tank report says the nuclear weapon-possessing states of the US, the UK, France, Russia and China are either modernizing their nuclear weapons or appear determined to keep their nuclear arsenals indefinitely.

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published on Monday its latest yearbook, which assesses the current state of international security, armaments and disarmament. 

The report said the five states are in the process of deploying new nuclear weapon delivery systems or have announced programs to do so.
“Once again there was little to inspire hope that the nuclear weapon-possessing states are genuinely willing to give up their nuclear arsenals. The long-term modernization programs under way in these states suggest that nuclear weapons are still a marker of international status and power,” said SIPRI Senior Researcher Shannon Kile.

The report also revealed that at the start of 2013, the United States, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan and the Israeli regime possessed roughly 4,400 operational nuclear weapons. 

When counting all nuclear warheads, these eight states together have nearly 17,300 nuclear weapons. SIPRI estimated that the Israeli regime has about 80 intact nuclear weapons, including 50 Jericho II medium-range ballistic missiles and 30 for gravity bombs carried by aircraft.

In addition, the think tank also believes that the Tel Aviv regime has produced non-strategic nuclear weapons, including artillery shells and atomic demolition munitions.

Separate reports say that the Israeli regime has between 200 and 400 nuclear warheads. Tel Aviv continuously rejects all the regulatory international nuclear agreements, particularly the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and it refuses to allow its nuclear facilities to come under international regulatory inspections.

June 4, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, weapons and war