The E3 countries, consisting of France, Britain and Germany, initiated a process Thursday to reimpose sanctions on Iran through a snapback mechanism in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The U.S. State Department said in a statement that the E3 has “ laid out a clear case of Iran’s continuing ‘significant non-performance’ of its nuclear commitments, establishing a strong basis for initiating snapback,” adding the U.S. “appreciates the leadership” of the E3 countries.
This snapback process follows a meeting in Geneva with Iran and the E3 on Tuesday, wherein the E3 threatened to reimpose sanctions due to accusations that Iran had violated the 2015 nuclear deal. Tehran had warned of a “harsh response” if the E3 reinstates sanctions, according to Iranian state media.
The Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Lt. Gen. Andrew Gebara, said in a webinar Wednesday that the B-52 and a second B-21 would both flight test “soon.”
Gebara also said the B-21 would be expected to fly “before the end of the year.”
The dual-capable B-52 bomber delivers the Long Range Standoff cruise missile, which carries the W80-4 warhead. The National Nuclear Security Administration is refurbishing the W80-4 warhead through a life extension program. The B-21 is also designed to have the dual capability of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons, which the National Nuclear Security Administration is responsible for producing and maintaining.
The Department of Energy said this week more than 1,000 cylinders of depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) were converted into a more stable oxide form at two former gaseous diffusion plant sites during fiscal 2025.
The work took place at DUF6 conversion plants located at the DOE’s Paducah Site in Kentucky and the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, the department said in a Tuesday press release. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30.
DUF6 is left over from decades of uranium enrichment work at Portsmouth and Paducah as well as the demolished facility at Oak Ridge, Tenn., DOE said in the press release. Converting DUF6 into an oxide form for disposal or transport reduces the material’s environmental risk, DOE said. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management had set a fiscal 2025 goal of converting at least 1,000 cylinders, according to the release.
L3Harris Technologies is opening a $100 million expansion of its satellite plant in Palm Bay, Fla.–94,000 square feet of space to focus on the future Golden Dome missile defense system.
“Accelerating the production of proven hardware for national missile warning and defense remains a priority as we align resources across the enterprise to support the president’s vision for America’s Golden Dome,” L3Harris Chairman and CEO Christopher Kubasik said on Aug. 21 after a ribbon-cutting at the plant.
The Golden Dome is President Donald Trump’s initiative intended to defend against hypersonic, cruise and nuclear-armed ballistic missile threats and a “countervalue attack by nuclear adversaries,” according to his January executive order.
The Department of Energy’s former chief of staff during President Joe Biden’s administration last week announced the formation of a new DOE alumni network.
The group, which will hire an executive director, is being created following “hundreds of survey responses and many dozens of conversations” with ex-DOE feds, former DOE chief of staff Tarak Shah, said last week on LinkedIn.
“The network will serve as a platform to stay connected and keep making an impact in support of DOE’s mission,” Shah said on the social media platform. “We’ve secured funding, an initial advisory board of fabulous former DOE Leaders, and are opening our search for an executive director. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a membership intake form!”
