New satellite imagery reveals the most construction activity at Iran's Pickaxe Mountain in the nuclear site's six-year history. CSIS experts Joseph Rodgers and Doug Comstock explain what the images show and why even the U.S.'s largest bunker-buster may not be enough to destroy it. Watch the video here: youtube.com/watch?v=4Uvti7T4…

Applications are still open for a fall PONI intern! The PONI interns will provide assistance to the team, learn more on deterrence, arms control, and disarmament, support programming, and have the opportunity to produce an independent research product for the Next Generation Nuclear Network website. To receive priority consideration, please apply by Monday, September 28: lnkd.in/eWb2SkcR

PONI has opened applications for a fall intern! The PONI interns will provide assistance to the team, learn more on deterrence, arms control, and disarmament, support programming, and have the opportunity to produce an independent research product for the Next Generation Nuclear Network website. To receive priority consideration, please apply by Monday, September 28: job-boards.greenhouse.io/cen…

REMINDER: PONI will be hosting its 2026 Fall Conference at CSIS on November 17! Applications to present at the conference are now open and are due September 21. Please apply and register to attend here: csis.org/events/poni-2026-fa…

NEW COMMENTARY: PONI's Heather Williams and Energy Security and Climate Change's Jane Nakano analyze the Saudi 123 Agreement, arguing the proposed U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear agreement has both risks and opportunities for U.S. national security. What would Washington gain? How might it affect global nonproliferation norms, or shape global interests in nuclear defense capacity? How might it impact U.S. competition with China? To explore these questions in greater depth, read the full commentary here: csis.org/analysis/nuclear-st…

NEW PONI ANALYSIS: PONI's Joseph Rodgers recently published a CSIS commentary using new satellite imagery to analyze upticks in 2026 construction activity at Pickaxe Mountain. Multisource imagery analysis of Pickaxe Mountain and the Natanz Nuclear Facility from 2020 to the present reveals a clear three-phase activity signature across the five key points of interest and the roads connecting them, indicating a site that has shifted from active excavation toward probable internal construction and continued exterior reinforcement. Read the full analysis here: lnkd.in/eA9W_xj7

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Natasha Wood is a Program Analyst for TechSource supporting the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Defense Programs. Natasha previously served as a congressional staffer for four years, during which time she managed the House Foreign Affairs Committee portfolio for Rep. Jim Costa, and led the Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue on the staff level. She is an Atlantic Council Eurasia Center Congressional Fellow, and a former graduate intern at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on the Strategic Technologies Program. Natasha has a master’s in international security and technology policy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and a bachelor’s (magna cum laude) from the University of Pennsylvania. Learn more about the 2026 Nuclear Scholars Initiative: lnkd.in/edjs9Y7a

PONI will be hosting its 2026 Fall Conference at CSIS on November 17! Applications to present at the conference are now open and are due September 21. Please apply and register to attend here: csis.org/events/poni-2026-fa…

The third module of the Arms Control 101 series, "Arms Control and Alliances," is out now. In this episode of Arms Control 101, we explore the crucial role U.S. allies play in shaping arms control agreements. When allies are included in the consultative process, arms control can bolster extended deterrence and alliance cohesion and can advance nonproliferation objectives. The episode outlines the crucial role of allies in advancing transatlantic security through case studies on the dual-track decision, the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, and the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty. Watch the full video here: youtu.be/ajc0eS5mcgo

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Will Smock-Egan is a national security specialist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the Emerging Threats and Technologies Division. In this role, he works at the intersection of technology and policy, focusing on nonproliferation, space security, and critical minerals and materials. Previously, Will served as a National Nuclear Security Administration Graduate Fellow with the Office of Stockpile Management, where he contributed to the modernization and sustainment of the United States’ nuclear deterrent. He also served as chief of staff to a state legislator in Colorado. Will holds an MA in International Security and dual BAs in Political Science and International Studies from the University of Denver. Learn more about the 2026 Nuclear Scholars Initiative: lnkd.in/edjs9Y7a

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Captain Curtis “LoTro” Smith is a B-52H Stratofortress Aircraft Commander and Assistant Flight Commander for the 69th Bomb Squadron, Minot Air Force Base, ND. In this position, Curt is responsible for nuclear and conventional global strike operations, has taken part in multiple deployments, and oversees Mission Qualification Training for new B-52 aircrew. Curt holds a Bachelors of Science in Political Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy, an MA in International Affairs from King’s College London, and a certificate on Nuclear Weapons Effects, Policy, and Proliferation from the Air Force Institute of Technology. Past assignments include completion of Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training at Sheppard Air Force Base, TX, and serving as a parachuting instructor at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Learn more about the 2026 Nuclear Scholars Initiative: nuclearnetwork.csis.org/prog…

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Samreen Singh is a Policy Analyst at Leidos, specializing in nuclear deterrence and strategic modernization. She supports the Nuclear Weapons Council within the National Nuclear Security Administration, advising on deterrence priorities and coordinating decisions across multiple warhead modernization programs. Her work includes guiding senior leadership on material negotiations with UK counterparts under the U.S.–UK Mutual Defense Agreement. Previously, at the U.S. Department of Justice she managed bilateral and regional programs across Asia to counter transnational crime and terrorism, strengthening cooperation with foreign criminal justice institutions. Samreen holds a Master’s in Public Policy from American University and a Bachelor’s in Government and International Politics from George Mason University where she was a Global Politics Fellow. Samreen participated in CSIS’ Labs Nuclear Scholars Initiative, and has engaged in strategic dialogue on advancing trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Australia through the Atlantic Council’s Next Generation Agenda. Learn more about the 2026 Nuclear Scholars Initiative: lnkd.in/edjs9Y7a

Would Russia view new U.S. investments in missile defense as more destabilizing than forward-deployed nuclear forces in Europe? What drives Chinese strategic investments—Xi Jinping’s personal political agenda or U.S. deployments in the Indo-Pacific? And would additional U.S., British, French, or other European investments in nuclear or strategic conventional capabilities incentivize Russia and China to continue their qualitative and quantitative nuclear buildups, or might they settle into a new strategic balance? PONI explores these and other questions in its new report, "Risks of Racing: Russian and Chinese Perceptions of Strategic Competition in the Euro-Atlantic Region." Read the full report here: lnkd.in/eCDzfhGN

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Philip Sheers is an Associate Fellow with the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). His research covers escalation management and nuclear deterrence, airpower and great power conflict, and defense industrial base (DIB) and defense budget issues. While at CNAS, Sheers has published reports on nuclear issues in the Indo-Pacific, air battle management, the U.S. defense budget, and the U.S. DIB. Prior to joining CNAS, Sheers worked as a risk analyst at Ipsos Public Affairs. Sheers’s writing and commentary have been featured in The Economist, Foreign Policy, The Telegraph, Breaking Defense, and Fox News. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Sheers holds an MA in security studies from Georgetown University and a BA in international studies from Kenyon College. Learn more about the 2026 Nuclear Scholars Initiative: nuclearnetwork.csis.org/prog…

NEW REPORT: Russia and China are unlikely to abandon their nuclear modernization and expansion programs due to domestic factors and long-standing distrust of the United States. Furthermore, Both Moscow and Beijing view advances in missile defense, such as Golden Dome, as particularly escalatory. What does this mean for US posture? What forms of risk reduction are most viable? PONI's "Risks of Racing: Russian and Chinese Perceptions of Strategic Competition in the Euro-Atlantic Region" answers these questions and more. Read the full report here: csis.org/analysis/risks-raci…

NEW REPORT: As the United States and its allies invest more in their nuclear forces to deter Russia and China, some have warned of an impending arms race. The likelihood of an arms race, however, depends on perceptions in Moscow and Beijing. The CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) drew from historical sources and expert workshops to evaluate how Russia and China would view and respond to four U.S. and UK buildup scenarios. Read the findings and full report here: csis.org/analysis/risks-raci…

✨Nuclear Scholars Initiative Spotlight ✨ Hannah Riley is an Analyst in the Office of International Programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). She supports the 1958 U.S./UK Mutual Defense Agreement (MDA) and U.S./NATO MDA, assisting in the exchange of nuclear weapons related activities with U.S. nuclear partners. She also functions as a subject matter expert for Defense Programs’ export control activities. Prior to this role, Hannah was an NNSA Graduate Fellow at the Department of Commerce’s Strategic Intelligence Division. She has served in a variety of roles at the U.S. Department of State, including at the U.S. Mission to the UN and U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. She has also served as a graduate research assistant for Brookhaven National Lab, contributing to analysis of international nuclear agreements. Hannah holds a M.A. in Security Policy from George Washington University, and a B.A. from the University of Minnesota. Learn more about the 2026 Nuclear Scholars Initiative: nuclearnetwork.csis.org/prog…

A reminder that PONI Fall intern applications are still open to undergraduates, recent grads, and graduate students! The PONI interns will provide assistance to the team, learn more on deterrence, arms control, and disarmament, support programming, and have the opportunity to produce an independent research product for the Next Generation Nuclear Network website. Applications are rolling; to learn more and apply, click here: job-boards.greenhouse.io/cen…