In 1946, the United States conducted a series of nuclear weapon tests at Bikini Atoll in what is known as Operation Crossroads.
"I am well aware of the difficulties involved in thwarting Iran's attempts to acquire a nuclear weapon... however, it is clear to me without a doubt that dealing with the threat itself will be far more complicated, far more dangerous and far more costly in resources and human life," Barak was quoted as saying by the Haaretz online.
The defence ministry on Thursday rejected senior Defence Research and Development Organisation scientist K Santhanam's assertion that the 1998 Pokhran II nuclear tests were not fully successful, adding that India has a meaningful number of nuclear weapons and an effective delivery system to go with it.
Making nuclear exemptions for India, says Senator Edward Markey, 'only infuriates Pakistan and leads them to further increase their own nuclear capacities.'
A military strike against Iran would have "unintended consequences", US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has warned, sounding the Obama administration's strongest reservation about an attack since the release of a UN report, which suspected Tehran was working on a nuclear explosive device.
The nuclear nonproliferation lobby has urged the United States administration to ensure that America's dual-use technology is not diverted by New Delhi to its nuclear weapons programme.
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
India has to leverage its "swing" status, engage with all and align with none, observes Shyam Saran
Centuries old religious conflicts may be nearing an inevitable end with the addition of nuclear warheads to their arsenal, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Pakistan on Sunday junked as "rubbish" a report that elite US troops were ready to counter any move to hijack the country's nuclear arsenal and said it was "a figment of the imagination".
K Subrahamanyam felt India's right to conduct nuclear tests was not curbed under the agreement.
India has said it was "deeply worried" over the potential nexus between clandestine proliferation of nuclear weapons and terrorism and favoured "transparent verification procedures" to prevent such materials falling in dangerous hands.
In its latest bid to press Iran to halt its uranium production, the US is planning to impose strong and immediate new sanctions against Teharan that will target its elite Revolutionary Guards, the military force believed to run the clandestine nuclear weapons effort.
