Fresh out of a classified briefing Tuesday on Operation Epic Fury, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, posted on X saying the war goals “DO NOT” involve destroying Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
“This is, uh…surprising…since Trump says over and over this is a key goal,” Murphy continued in his post. “But then of course we already know air strikes can’t wipe out their nuclear material.”
Murphy continued to say regime change also wasn’t on the list of priorities for the Donald Trump administration. “Ok, so what ARE the goals? It seems, primarily, destroying lots of missiles and boats and drone factories,” Murphy said. “But the question that stumped them: what happens when you stop bombing and they restart production? They hinted at more bombing. Which is, of course, endless war.”
Finland plans to lift a decades-long ban on nuclear arms in its country, the government said March 5.
Finland’s 1987 Nuclear Energy Act prohibited the import, manufacture, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives on Finland soil. Since then, however, Finland has joined NATO in 2023, and the Defense Minister said amending the Nuclear Energy Act “is necessary to enable Finland’s military defense as part of the alliance and to take full advantage of NATO’s deterrence and collective defence,” according to Reuters.
The amendment’s future depends on Finland’s right-wing parliament, where it heads to next.
The U.S. opposed a resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.’s international nuclear watchdog, that condemns attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid due to threats to nuclear safety.
“While we continue supporting the IAEA’s work in-country, we do not support the Board’s current consideration of an unnecessary resolution that does not help achieve peace between Ukraine and Russia,” the U.S. said in a statement March 4 during the IAEA’s board of governors meeting in Vienna.
While the resolution still passed, the U.S., Russia, China and Niger opposed it.
The Ukrainian government allocated around $37 billion budget funds in U.S. dollars to enhance the safety of the shelter surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, according to Ukrainian news.
“The government has allocated more than UAH 1.6 billion in budget funds to carry out works to secure the Chornobyl NPP confinement. The funds will be directed, among other things, to mitigate the aftermath of Russia’s terrorist attack on the plant’s shelter,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy said in a statement on Telegram. “A clear international response to such acts of terrorism is needed, including restricting the aggressor state’s rights within the IAEA.”
According to an IAEA statement in December, the protective barrier around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site from 1986 can no longer contain radiation after a drone strike from February 2025. Ukrainian state news site Ukrainian Pravda said in December that Chernobyl’s director, Serhii Tarakanov, said another Russian strike could collapse the radiation shelter.
Irving, Texas-based nuclear fuel company Fluor said Monday Bob Card, former Under Secretary of Energy and most recent CEO of Canadian project management company SNC-Lavin, will join Fluor’s Board of Directors.
Card was selected March 4, and his appointment brings the number of board members to 12, Fluor’s press release said.
While Card’s most recent position was CEO of a project management company, he served as Under Secretary of Energy from 2001 to 2004 under President George W. Bush. He oversaw national programs in energy, science, environment and waste management, the release said, He also managed the decommissioning of Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons plant. His national honors include the Energy Secretary’s Gold Award.