US Deploys Nukes to UK Amid Escalating Tensions

Amid the escalating tensions in Russian President Vladimir Putin's stalling of peace in Ukraine, the U.S. is reportedly deploying its nuclear weapons arsenal on British soil for the first time in nearly two decades.

The reports come from the OSINTdefender X account, an open source intelligence monitor, and the U.K. Defense Journal.

"For the first time since at least 2005, U.S. nuclear weapons have been deployed onto the territory of the United Kingdom, with sources reporting that several B61-12 Thermonuclear Gravity Bombs were transferred this week from the U.S. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center (AFNWC) at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, to the newly-built nuclear weapons storage facility at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, England," the X post read.

"The B61-12 is an advanced low-yield 'tactical' nuclear gravity bomb that is able to be equipped by a number of aircraft, including the F-35A Lightning II, which is flown by both 493rd Fighter Squadron and 495th Fighter Squadron based at Lakenheath."

The U.K. Defense Journal reported it might be the first U.S. nuclear deployment to the U.K. since 2008. The U.S. Defense Department has not made any public statements on the deployment of nuclear assets, and the U.K. Defense Ministry does not typically confirm nuclear weapons locations and deployments, according to the report.

The news does come just days after the France and Britain agreed to reinforce cooperation over their respective nuclear arsenals to defend Europe. Currently, the Russian threat amid the Ukraine war escalation stands to be the No. 1 reason for that agreement.

"This morning, we signed the Northward declaration, confirming for the first time that we are coordinating our independent nuclear deterrence," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told a news conference alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.

The U.K., France, and the U.S. are the only nuclear powers in NATO, which held a summit in June and held in-person talks with President Donald Trump's White House since.

Seven NATO nations contribute to the alliance's nuclear mission by contributing jets that can carry either conventional weapons or American B61 bombs stockpiled in Europe.

The U.K. has agreed in late June to buy 12 U.S.-made F-35A fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear bombs and will join NATO's shared airborne nuclear mission, in a major expansion of its nuclear deterrent, Starmer announced.

"The biggest strengthening of the U.K.'s nuclear posture in a generation," the U.K. Prime Minister hailed.

Starmer made the announcement while attending a NATO summit in the Netherlands. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte welcomed the decision, calling it "yet another robust British contribution to NATO."

The U.K. phased out air-dropped atomic weapons in the 1990s after the end of the Cold War. Its nuclear arsenal had consisted of submarine-based missiles.

The above developments also come in the shadow of Trump and Israel's 60-day ceasefire against Iran's nuclear weapons program.

Iran, Britain, France, and Germany will hold nuclear talks in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday, following warnings by the three European countries that failure to resume negotiations would lead to international sanctions being reimposed on Iran.

The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to the former President Barack Obama's 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal reached with Iran – from which the United States withdrew in 2018 – that lifted sanctions on the Middle Eastern country in return for restrictions on its nuclear program.

The E3 have said they would restore U.N. sanctions on Tehran via the "snapback mechanism" by the end of August if nuclear talks that were ongoing between Iran and the U.S. before the Israel-Iran air war do not resume or fail to produce concrete results.

"If EU/E3 want to have a role, they should act responsibly, and put aside the worn-out policies of threat and pressure, including the 'snap-back' for which they lack absolutely [any] moral and legal ground," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

The snapback mechanism can be used to restore U.N. sanctions before the U.N. Security Council resolution enshrining the deal expires Oct. 18.

Before the Israel-Iran war, Tehran and Washington held five rounds of nuclear talks mediated by Oman but faced major stumbling blocks such as uranium enrichment in Iran, which Western powers want to bring down to zero to minimize any risk of weaponization.

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used to compile this report.