"Iran is a self-sufficient country. If it decides to make a nuclear bomb, it will do that all right, sanctions or no sanctions," Vladimir Yevseyev said on the Ekho Moskvy radio.
Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme is considered to be among the fastest growing in the world by Stockholm-based International Peace Research Institute, with the estimates of Islamabad possessing 90-110 nuclear warheads.
United States Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta says that while the CIA has been scrupulously tracking the whereabouts of Pakistan's nuclear weapons arsenal, it has no intelligence about where they are dispersed.
Reiterating that "Iran must not acquire nuclear capability," Mullen after his arrival in Israel on Sunday said that if a regional confrontation were to break out following a strike on Tehran, it 'will be a big, big, big problem for all of us, and I worry a great deal about the unintended consequences of a strike'.
President Pervez Musharraf Thursday said Pakistan would not compromise on its nuclear deterrence capability and claimed the world was "astounded" by the test firing of the Babur cruise missile in 2005.
Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar has said India's role in the global nuclear renaissance is going to be very crucial.
Here are some of the glimpses of the 'Vijay Prahar' exercise.
India on Thursday test-fired the indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II ballistic missile from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Orissa as part of the user trial by the Army. "The missile mounted on a mobile launcher was test-fired from the launch complex-3 in the ITR at around 0905 hours," defence officials said.With a maximum striking range of 350 km, the missile is capable of carrying a pay-load of 500-1000 kg warhead.
Wipro chairman Azim Premji on Friday said a nation cannot be self-sufficient in strategic sectors like defence, nuclear energy and space technologies without domestic capabilities in hardware development
When asked if India should be test-firing a nuclear capable missile at a time when Washington is trying to dismantle the nuclear programmes of Iran and North Korea, McCormack replied: "It's not the first time they've test-fired missiles.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday dismissed suggestions that Pakistan's nuclear capabilities may be a factor in any hesitation by India to carry out a surgical strike against terror camps and said its restraint should not be construed as a weakness. "It (nuclear weapons with Pakistan) has nothing to do with that (decision not to strike). India's restraint should not be taken as a weakness," Antony told reporters on the sidelines of the Aero India show in Bangalore.
'Imagine a scenario where a terror strike by Pakistan-supported jihadis causes thousands of deaths in India. India in retaliation destroys terror camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.' 'There is a clamour for revenge in Pakistan and that country begins to fuel its missiles for a nuclear strike against India and that is detected by Indian satellites.' 'No sane government in India will then wait for the nuclear bombs to fall on Delhi before launching its own strike. To be effective, this may well involve nuclear weapons.' Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) says the change in the 'No First Use' pledge in the BJP manifesto is long overdue.
The synergised demonstration of indigenous defence capabilities during 'Bharat Shakti' is a "testimony to its commitment towards modernisation through indigenisation," the sources said.
Chinese nuclearisation of Tibet endangering ecosystem, says new book
"The government is strong and the armed forces can tackle everyone," he said outside his heavily-guarded home while interacting with the media for the first time after the restrictions imposed on him were eased. Khan stated this when asked if he had any advice for coping with possible threats from India in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.
Indian policymakers must incorporate in their nuclear doctrine a realistic response to tactical nuclear warheads, says Ajai Shukla.
Pakistan has gained atomic capabilities through "international deception" and "clandestine procurement" networks, eminent US lawmakers have said, while warning that the continuation of 'secretive' Sino-Pak nuclear ties is setting a wrong precedence for others.
'This cannot be credibly explained away by referring to a "technical glitch".'
Khan said Pakistan could have become a nuclear power as early as 1984 but the then President General Zia ul Haq 'opposed the move'.
A day after India tested the new missile from waters off its Vishakahpatnam coast, Pakistan Navy Chief Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir described the development as a 'very serious issue', as it was aimed at deploying nuclear weapons at sea.
The Indian troops guarding the nearly 3,500-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) maintained an assertive approach in sync with the broader national security doctrine and procured a variety of military platforms and weapons to enhance their combat capabilities.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been receiving invitations for functions scheduled much after the Lok Sabha polls, which showed the 'entire world believes his return to power is inevitable'.
Once Agni-3 and Agni-5 are inducted into the forces, all the cities in China and Pakistan will be in India's range, Defence Research and Development Organisation Chief V K Saraswat said.
In an interview published in The Sunday Times son of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gadaffi says Libya spent $40 million to acquire nuclear capability.
A message board on the successful launch of Agni-III
'Israel is counting on the United States to enter the fray on their behalf and perform destructive strikes against these targets that are beyond Israel's conventional capabilities.' 'They may well get their way if they start a war, because the United States is still committed to Israel's security, and it won't matter whether it is Trump or Harris in the White House.'
Defence Minister A K India on Tuesday successfully test-fired the nuclear-capable BrahMos missile, with a range of 290 kms, at Pokhran. Antony told reporters in New Delhi that the test was pre-planned and not directed against any country. The missile, capable of touching a speed of 2.8 times that of sound, was launched during the trial in its vertical mode, Defence Research and Development Organisation officials told PTI.
Saudi Arabia's strategic review has UN and nuclear analysts worried, says 'The Guardian'
The surface-to-surface missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher at about 0830 hrs from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island, about 100 km from Balasore in Odisha, defence sources said.
Dismissing the recent Pentagon report that the People's Liberation Army has deployed nuclear capable missiles against India as "unfounded" and "contrary to facts", China on Wednesday said the claims were made with "ulterior motives".
Former NSA Shivshankar Menon said the defence minister did not have a right to voice his personal opinion on nuclear policy in public, particularly when that opinion contradicted the country's official policy.
'Once, around January 7, 2002. The second, after the Kaluchak attack,' reveals Major General Ashok K Mehta.
President General Pervez Musharraf made this revelation while replying to queries about pressure from the US to roll back its nuclear and missile weapons development programme.
The test of the Hatf-VIII or Raad missile, which has a range of 350 kilometres, was part of a 'continuing process of validating the design parameters of the weapon system', said a statement from the military. The statement did not say where the missile was tested. Pakistan has conducted a series of missile tests in the past few months. The test of the Raad came a day after India successfully launched ballistic missile Agni-III which has a range of 3,500 km.
With this second successful test-firing, India now joins a select group of nations having intermediate range ballistic missiles with range up to 3,000 km. The missile will give the nation the capability to target cities in China like Beijing and Shanghai. The success of Agni-III paves the way for India to build its truly intercontinental range missiles Agni-IV with a range of 5000 km in the near future.
'The struggle of insurgents and pro-independence political activists is fuelled by a deep conviction that not only is a free Balochistan possible, but they also believe that Pakistan will inevitably break apart, leading to Balochistan's independence.'
The first launch of the missile last year was a failure.
"And in this overall context," he added, "it is against India's own national security interests to have another nuclear weapons state in our region."
