Russia Says It Won’t Return to Nuclear Treaty until West Is Ready to Talk

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is test-fired as part of Russia's nuclear drills from a launch site in Plesetsk, northwestern Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is test-fired as part of Russia's nuclear drills from a launch site in Plesetsk, northwestern Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
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Russia Says It Won’t Return to Nuclear Treaty until West Is Ready to Talk

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is test-fired as part of Russia's nuclear drills from a launch site in Plesetsk, northwestern Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is test-fired as part of Russia's nuclear drills from a launch site in Plesetsk, northwestern Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

Russia said on Wednesday it would need to see a change in NATO's stance and a willingness for dialogue before it would consider returning to its last remaining nuclear treaty with the United States.

The lower house of the Russian parliament voted quickly in favor of suspending Moscow's participation in the New START treaty, rubber-stamping a decision that President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday when he accused the West of trying to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia in Ukraine.

The 2010 treaty limits each country's deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550. Security analysts say its potential collapse could unleash a new arms race at a perilous moment when Putin is increasingly portraying the Ukraine war he launched one year ago as a direct confrontation with the West.

Asked in what circumstances Russia would return to the deal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "Everything will depend on the position of the West... When there's a willingness to take into account our concerns, then the situation will change."

Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying: "We will, of course, be closely monitoring the further actions of the United States and its allies, including with a view to taking further countermeasures, if necessary."

Responding to a CNN report that Russia had unsuccessfully tested its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this week - a weapon capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads - Interfax quoted Ryabkov as saying: "You cannot trust everything that appears in the media, especially if the source is CNN."

Stalled inspections

The suspended treaty gives each side the right to inspect the other’s sites – though visits had been halted since 2020 because of COVID and the Ukraine war – and obliges the parties to provide detailed notifications on their respective deployments.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that the Russian move was "deeply unfortunate and irresponsible". NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said it made the world more dangerous and urged Putin to reconsider.

Russia said, however, it would continue to abide by the limits on the number of warheads it can deploy and stood open to reversing its decision.

Before passing the vote in Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament, speaker Vyacheslav Volodin blamed the United States for the breakdown.

"By ceasing to comply with its obligations and rejecting our country's proposals on global security issues, the United States destroyed the architecture of international stability," Volodin said in a statement.

Russia is now demanding that British and French nuclear weapons targeted against Russia should be included in the arms control framework, something analysts say is a non-starter for Washington after more than half a century of bilateral nuclear treaties with Moscow.

"We will obviously pay special attention to what line and what decisions London and Paris are taking, which can no longer, even hypothetically, be considered outside of the Russian-US dialogue on nuclear arms control," the TASS news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying.

He said there was currently no direct dialogue between Moscow and Washington on nuclear issues and it was unknown whether it would resume.



Cyber Group Disrupts Communication Networks of Iranian Oil Fleet

Indonesian vessel KN. Pulau Marore-322 patrols to inspect the Iranian-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), and the Cameroon-flagged MT S Tinos, as they were spotted conducting a ship-to-ship oil transfer without a permit near Indonesia's North Natuna Sea, Indonesia, July 7, 2023. (Reuters)
Indonesian vessel KN. Pulau Marore-322 patrols to inspect the Iranian-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), and the Cameroon-flagged MT S Tinos, as they were spotted conducting a ship-to-ship oil transfer without a permit near Indonesia's North Natuna Sea, Indonesia, July 7, 2023. (Reuters)
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Cyber Group Disrupts Communication Networks of Iranian Oil Fleet

Indonesian vessel KN. Pulau Marore-322 patrols to inspect the Iranian-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), and the Cameroon-flagged MT S Tinos, as they were spotted conducting a ship-to-ship oil transfer without a permit near Indonesia's North Natuna Sea, Indonesia, July 7, 2023. (Reuters)
Indonesian vessel KN. Pulau Marore-322 patrols to inspect the Iranian-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), and the Cameroon-flagged MT S Tinos, as they were spotted conducting a ship-to-ship oil transfer without a permit near Indonesia's North Natuna Sea, Indonesia, July 7, 2023. (Reuters)

A hacker group has disrupted the communication networks of ships belonging to two major Iranian shipping companies sanctioned by the US.

The group, called Lab Dookhtegan or “Read My Lips”, said it has disrupted the communication networks of 116 ships and therefore, severed the ships' connections to each other, their ports, and external communication channels, according to a report by Iran International.

The attack, the report said, was timed to coincide with US military operations against the Iran-backed Yemeni Houthis.

“As part of this operation, we targeted the communication network 50 ships belonging to the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) and 66 ships belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL),” the report added.

The ships belong to two major Iranian companies sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have tightened their grip on the country's oil industry and control up to half the exports that generate most of Tehran's revenue and fund its proxies across the Middle East, according to Reuters.

All aspects of the oil business have come under the growing influence of the IRGC, from the shadow fleet of tankers that secretively ship sanctioned crude, to logistics and the front companies selling the oil, mostly to China, according to more than a dozen people interviewed by Reuters.

By disrupting ship communications, Lab Dookhtegan said on Tuesday it has significantly hindered operations, adding that full restoration of the affected systems could take weeks.

“Ship personnel can no longer communicate with one another, and their connection to the ports and outside world has been severed,” Iran International said.

US President Donald Trump's administration is considering a plan to stop and inspect Iranian oil tankers at sea under an international accord aimed at countering the spread of weapons of mass destruction, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Trump has vowed to restore “maximum pressure” campaign to isolate Iran from the global economy and drive its oil exports to zero, in order to stop the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Lab Dookhtegan said the attack coincided with its sixth anniversary and aims to demonstrate the scale and depth of its cooperation with individuals within the Iranian regime.

The group is known for previous cyber activities against Iran’s military and intelligence operations.

In July 2022, the group revealed the identity of IRGC-affiliated hackers who exploited European, Australian and US individuals and institutions in order to carry out ransomware activities.