- ‘Scotland’s not for Sale’ conference (Saturday 27th September, 10am-5pm, National Piping Centre, Glasgow), register here.
- ‘Gentle Angry Women’ screening at Glasgow Film Theatre (1st and 2nd October, 3:10pm, Glasgow Film Theatre) tickets here.
- SCND Keep Space for Peace Vigil (Monday 6th October, noon-2pm, Scottish Parliament).
- ‘Disarmament at the Margins’ University of Glasgow symposium (7th-8th October, Glasgow) register here.
- ‘Nuclear Test Explosions Worldwide’ SCND webinar (Thursday 9th October, Online, 5:30pm-7pm) register here.
- ‘Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the Third Nuclear Age’ University of Stirling symposium (Friday 17th October, University of Stirling). register here.
- MAJOR SCND Conference ‘Stop the Nuclear Nightmare’ (Saturday 1st November, Adelaide Place Baptist Church, Glasgow 10am-4pm) register here.
- Scottish CND Annual General Meeting, (Saturday 15th November) members should register here.
In a major international development, a “Strategic Defence Pact” was recently signed between nuclear-armed Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, seemingly without prior consultation with Washington.
The agreement operates along similar contours as NATO, treating an attack on one signatory to be an attack on others and encompassing all military means including Pakistan’s nuclear capability.
This comes in the wake of Israel’s bombing of Qatar, a US ally which hosts tens of thousands of US troops. The Saudi/Pakistani pact can be seen as an attempt to hedge against US unreliability in an era when its main proxy in the region, Israel, has bombed 6 neighbouring countries in 2025 alone.
These events illustrate the increasing isolation of the US and Israel on the world stage, as Arab states traditionally allied with the US pursue alternative security arrangements. This also means the expansion of nuclear frontiers in the Middle-East, a highly concerning development that requires sensitive diplomacy on the world stage.
In other news, Russian President Vladimir Putin recently offered to extend the New START treaty – which limits nuclear weapons deployment by the US and Russia – by 1 year after its original February 2026 expiry date, in order to secure more time for negotiations.
Russia announced they would withdraw from the verification obligations of the Treaty in 2023, while claiming they would continue to abide by its limits on weapons deployment.
Meanwhile, Russia last week collaborated with Belarus in military exercises that involved a simulated nuclear strike using Russia’s ‘Oreshnik’ nuclear-capable missiles, which are scheduled to be stationed in Belarus.
These developments are highly concerning and all the more reason why the US should take seriously Putin’s offer to extend New START for another year after February 2026 – though tensions will arise around verification if Russia continues to refuse inspections under a prospective deal.
Finally, Iran’s president vowed his country would never build a nuclear weapon in a speech at the UN General Assembly this week.
The remarks come during diplomatic tensions with the E3 (France, UK and Germany) over the re-implementation of sanctions on Iran for rejecting nuclear verification measures set out in the 2015 JCPOA deal, which limited nuclear development in exchange for sanctions relief. US president Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of the JCPOA in 2018.
The Iranian president accused the E3 of doing the bidding of the United States by re-imposing sanctions on Iran, but said that a deal remained possible.
Read this fascinating address to the E3 from Iran’s foreign minister, recently published in The Guardian, urging Europe’s largest nations to act in their own sovereign interests, rather than appease the US.
These events show that rarely in history has there been more urgency to build a mass movement against nuclear war and nuclear proliferation. Join our campaign for a more peaceful Scotland and world, and support our upcoming events!
In peace,
Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament