In this episode of Iran Watch Listen, we sat down with Hanna Notte and Jim Lamson, experts at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. We discussed the history of Iran and Russia’s military relationship, how it has changed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and areas where both countries might benefit from deeper cooperation in the future. The conversation took place on August 21 and was hosted by John Caves, a Senior Research Associate at the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, and John Krzyzaniak, a Research Associate at the Wisconsin Project.

Expert Bios

Dr. Hanna Notte is the director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), and a senior non-resident associate with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Jim Lamson is a senior research associate at CNS, where he focuses on Iranian weapons, space, and military issues, and Iran’s security and arms control policies. Prior to that, Jim worked for 23 years as an analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency.

Related Resources

Hanna Notte and Jim Lamson, “Iran-Russia Defense Cooperation: Current Realities and Future Horizons,” James Martin Center For Nonproliferation Studies, August 6, 2024.

Hanna Notte and Jim Lamson, “The Uncomfortable Reality of Russia and Iran’s New Defense Relationship,” War on the Rocks, July 24, 2024.

Hanna Notte, “Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: The Nuclear Price Tag,” Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, February 2023.

Credits

Intro/Outro music by AudioCoffee (Denys Kyshchuk): https://www.audiocoffee.net.

In this episode of Iran Watch Listen, we sat down with Wolf-Christian Paes, an expert on arms and maritime security who served on the U.N. Panel of Experts on Yemen from 2018 until 2023. We discussed Iran’s support for the Houthi rebel group, the ways in which arms are smuggled into Yemen, and the challenges of enforcing the arms embargo imposed on the Houthis by the U.N. Security Council—as well as what that bodes for the outcome of the current crisis in the Red Sea.

Expert Bio

Wolf-Christian Paes is a Senior Fellow for Armed Conflict at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). From 2018 until 2023, he served as the arms expert on the U.N. Panel of Experts on Yemen, where he monitored the sanctions regime imposed by the U.N. Security Council and reported on maritime security. Prior to that, he was the Head of Advisory Services at the Bonn International Center for Conflict Studies (BICC).

Related Resources

Wolf-Christian Paes, “Assessment of the Response to Illicit Weapons Trafficking In the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea,” U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, March 2024.

Reports of the Panel of Experts on Yemen

“Iranian Technology Transfers to Yemen,” Conflict Armament Research, March 2017.

“Evolution of UAVs Employed By Houthi Forces in Yemen,” Conflict Armament Research, February 2020.

Jay Bahadur, “Following the Money: The Use of the Hawala Remittance System in the Yemen–Somalia Arms Trade,” Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, September 17, 2020.

Credits

Intro/Outro music by AudioCoffee (Denys Kyshchuk): https://www.audiocoffee.net.

In this episode of Iran Watch Listen, we sat down with Dr. Bruce Goodwin, an expert on nuclear weapons design and testing. We discussed the steps required to build a nuclear weapon and what is publicly known about Iran’s weaponization efforts to date. The conversation took place on May 3 and was hosted by Valerie Lincy, Executive Director at the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, and John Krzyzaniak, a Research Associate at the Wisconsin Project.

Expert Bio

Bruce Goodwin is a retired senior fellow at the Center for Global Security Research at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Earlier, he was the Principal Associate Director for the nuclear weapons program at Livermore from 2001 until 2013. He has been a key player in the success of the U.S. nuclear weapons program since 1981, first at Los Alamos National Laboratory and since 1985 at Livermore. While at both Labs, he was a design physicist on five nuclear tests.

Related Resources

“Additive Manufacturing and Nuclear Security: Calibrating Rewards and Risks,” Center for Global Security Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, November 2019.

“Nuclear Weapons Technology 101 for Policy Wonks,” Center for Global Security Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, August 2021.