Politics
‘New Start’ nuclear treaty expires, removing key constraints on Russia and US
- Lapse of New Start treaty ends half-century of nuclear restraint.
- Russia criticises US for not agreeing to extend warhead limits.
- Moscow says neither side is bound any more by treaty provisions.
MOSCOW: Russia and the United States are no longer bound by any limits on the size of their strategic nuclear arsenals after their last arms control treaty expired on Thursday with no agreement between them on what should come next.
The New Start treaty, which set limits on each side’s missiles, launchers and strategic warheads, was the last in a series of nuclear agreements stretching back more than half a century to the depths of the Cold War.
Security experts say its expiry risks ushering in a new arms race that will also be fuelled by China’s rapid nuclear build-up.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had proposed that Moscow and Washington agree to adhere to the treaty’s key provisions for one more year, but US President Donald Trump did not make any formal response.
Trump says he wants a better deal that will also bring in China. But Beijing refuses to negotiate with the other two countries because it has only a fraction of their warhead numbers – an estimated 600, compared to around 4,000 each for Russia and the US
In a statement late on Wednesday, hours before New Start lapsed, Russia criticised what it called the “mistaken and regrettable” US approach.
It said Moscow’s assumption now was that the treaty no longer applied, and both sides were free to choose their next steps.
Russia “remains prepared to take decisive military-technical countermeasures to mitigate potential additional threats to national security”.
But it will act responsibly and is open to diplomacy to seek a “comprehensive stabilisation of the strategic situation,” the statement said, striking a balance between assertiveness and restraint.
Trump made no statement as the treaty expired. The White House said this week that Trump would decide the way forward on nuclear arms control, which he would “clarify on his own timeline”.
UN chief says nuclear risk is highest in decades
Strategic nuclear weapons are the long-range systems that each side would use to strike the other’s capital, military and industrial centres in the event of a nuclear war.
They differ from so-called tactical nuclear weapons that have a lower yield and are designed for limited strikes or battlefield use.
In the absence of a treaty framework that provides stability and predictability, analysts say each side will find it harder to read the other’s intentions. That could lead to a spiral in which each feels the need to keep on adding weapons, based on worst-case assumptions about what the other is planning.
Within a couple of years, each could deploy hundreds more warheads beyond the New Start limit of 1,550, experts say.
“Transparency and predictability are among the more intangible benefits of arms control and underpin deterrence and strategic stability,” said Karim Haggag, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
“Without them, relations between nuclear weapon states are likely to be more crisis prone – especially with artificial intelligence and other new technologies adding complexity and unpredictability to escalation dynamics and a worrying lack of diplomatic and military communication channels between the USA and both China and Russia.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the dissolution of decades of achievement in arms control “could not come at a worse time – the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is the highest in decades.”
He urged Russia and the US to resume negotiations without delay to agree “a successor framework that restores verifiable limits, reduces risks, and strengthens our common security”.
Iran has responded negatively to an American proposal aimed at ending the ongoing imposed war, insisting that it will only occur on Tehran’s own terms and timeline, a senior political-security official said.
The official with knowledge of the details of the proposal said Iran will not allow US President Donald Trump to dictate the timing of the war’s end.
“Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met,” the official said, emphasizing Tehran’s resolve to continue its defense and inflict “heavy blows” on the enemy until its demands are fulfilled.
According to the official, Washington has been pursuing negotiations through various diplomatic channels, putting forward proposals that Tehran views as “excessive” and disconnected from the reality of America’s failure on the battlefield.
The official drew parallels with two previous rounds of negotiations held in the spring and winter of 2025, characterising them as deceptive.
In both instances, the official stressed, the United States had no genuine intention to engage in meaningful dialogue and subsequently carried out military aggression against Iran.
Tehran has therefore categorized the latest overture, which was delivered via a friendly regional intermediary, as a ploy to heighten tensions and has responded negatively.
The official outlined five specific conditions under which Iran would agree to end the war. These include:
A complete halt to “aggression and assassinations” by the enemy.
The establishment of concrete mechanisms to ensure that the war is not reimposed on the Islamic Republic.
Guaranteed and clearly defined payment of war damages and reparations.
The conclusion of the war across all fronts and for all resistance groups involved throughout the region
Iran’s exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz is and will remain Iran’s natural and legal right, and it constitutes a guarantee for the implementation of the other party’s commitments, and must be recognized.
The official further noted that these stipulations are in addition to demands previously presented by Tehran during the second round of negotiations in Geneva, which took place just days before the US and Israel carried out a fresh round of aggression on February 28.
Iran has communicated to all intermediaries acting in good faith that a ceasefire is contingent upon the acceptance of all of its conditions.
“No negotiations will be held prior to that,” the official stressed, reiterating that the continuation of Iran’s defensive operations will persist until the outlined conditions are met.
“The end of the war will occur when Iran decides it should end, not when Trump envisions its conclusion,” he hastened to add.
The unprovoked and illegal war was launched on February 28 – in the middle of indirect nuclear talks – with the assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and some top-ranking military commanders and government officials.
In response, Iranian armed forces have so far carried out nearly 80 waves of retaliatory strikes targeting Israeli and American military assets across the region.
In recent days, the American side has courted some regional countries to persuade Iran to cease its retaliatory strikes that have decimated American and Israeli military infrastructure in the region as well as to allow American vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a bid to facilitate stranded visitors who could not leave due to the current situation in the region, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday extended the validity of all types of visas until April 18, 2026.
In a statement, the Ministry of Interior said that those whose visas — including visit, Umrah, transit and final exit — expired as of February 25, 2026, and who were unable to depart the kingdom due to the current situation, can benefit from this offer.
The ministry asked holders of expired visas to go directly to departure ports, where their exit procedures will be completed smoothly without the need for prior measures.
“This service does not require the payment of any fees for beneficiaries who wish to depart directly,” it added.
A large number of foreigners were unable to depart the Kingdom due to the ongoing war between the United States, Israel and Iran, which disrupted air travel across the region.
Several countries closed their airspace and airlines suspended operations after Tehran launched retaliatory attacks across Gulf nations.
Politics
USS Abraham Lincoln under constant surveillance, will be hit if within range: Navy commander
Iranian Army’s Navy has said that the movements of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group are being closely and constantly monitored and will be targeted if it comes within the range of Iranian missiles.
Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, the commander of the Iranian Navy, warned that should the hostile carrier group enter the range of Iranian missile systems, it would be targeted with crushing strikes.
“Like Mount Dena, we stand firm for the dignity and glory of Iran and Iranians, to be a hope for the oppressed and a thorn in the eyes of enemies,” he said in remarks on Wednesday.
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is the fifth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in the US Navy.
Rear Admiral Irani honored the memory of the martyrs of the destroyer Dena and outlined the Navy’s posture in the strategic waters of the Persian Gulf.
“The Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with resolute will and the absolute maritime dominance of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Persian Gulf, intelligent control of the Strait of Hormuz, and authoritative monitoring of the passage of military and hostile fleets north of the 10-degree line, will not relent until we avenge the blood of our dear martyrs,” he said.
The Iranian Navy announced that its Ghadir coastal cruise missiles successfully targeted the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group, forcing the American fleet to change its position.
The Navy commander, the statement noted, has issued the order to fire at the Abraham Lincoln from the force’s operational command post.
The USS Abraham Lincoln had been operating in the waters near the Persian Gulf before the Israeli-American coalition launched the war of aggression against Iran on February 28.
In retaliatory operations, Iranian armed forces launched a few successful strikes at the US aircraft carrier, inflicting severe damage and forcing it to retreat.
The war entered its 26th day on Wednesday with Iran currently holding the upper hand, having destroyed US and Israeli military infrastructure across the region.
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