The underlying issue: Nuclear weapons and their proliferation

By Pablo Ruiz*

The fundamental question is not up for debate: Should countries possess nuclear weapons? There are nine nuclear powers. In the current landscape, France will expand its nuclear arsenal; the Finnish government is set to introduce a bill to allow the country to acquire them; and Germany already has the capability to produce them whenever it chooses.

While the world follows the Israeli-American war against Iran through the media, and while it is repeatedly argued that the aim is to curb Iran’s nuclear program, these governments, the press, and the international community continue to ignore the fundamental issue—and the paradox—that both the US and Israel do possess nuclear weapons, also known as weapons of mass destruction. China, Russia, Pakistan, France, the UK, India, and North Korea are also part of this select group of nuclear powers.

By Pablo Ruiz*

In January 2026, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists stated that we are 85 seconds away from midnight—or the “Doomsday Clock”—due to the threats of nuclear war and climate change.

As the war—which resumed in late February against the Islamic Republic of Iran—intensifies, with new attacks carried out by the United States and Israel against Tehran, we must once again raise the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons in this conflict, in a context where international law, the UN, are at an impasse, and where the nations of the world, represented in various international organizations, lack the capacity to stop the US or Israel from committing so many crimes and violations of international law and the very Charter of the United Nations signed on June 26, 1945, in the city of San Francisco, in the United States itself.

Action Aufschrei Demands a Turn Towards a Culture of Peace

The alliance Aktion Aufschrei – Stoppt den Waffenhandel! (Outcry – Stop the Arms Trade!) strongly criticizes the trend in the global arms trade, as presented in the latest figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). It was to be feared that Germany would move up to fourth place with a global share of 5.7%, ahead of China, behind the USA, France and Russia. Germany has been among the top group of global exporters for years. The trend is sharply rising, as German arms deliveries increased by a dramatic 15 percent in the period from 2021 to 2025 (compared to 2016 to 2020).

The SIPRI figures show at an alarming rate the speed at which arms races are accelerating worldwide, but they inadequately address the resulting problems. Because German weapons and armaments are not simply sold; they are also used in conflicts around the world.

[ARABIC BELOW]

To the governments of West Asia;

We, the undersigned members of global civil society, are deeply alarmed by the war on Iran and the escalating violence threatening to engulf West Asia in a wider, devastating war.

On March 2, 2026, at L’Ile Longue nuclear military base in Brittany, Emmanuel Macron gave an extremely bellicose, dangerous, and irresponsible speech on French nuclear weapons.

Macron developed a new concept, that of “advanced deterrence”, which consists of positioning French strategic air forces in other European countries and allowing those countries to participate in nuclear exercises “in full transparency with the United States of America and in close coordination with the United Kingdom,” and in close cooperation with Germany.

In response to the attacks against Iran and the military escalation in the Middle East

The World Peace Foundation DRCongo Africa expresses its deep concern and solidarity with the International Peace Bureau (IPB) in condemning the attacks carried out by the United States and Israel against Iran. These military actions constitute a serious violation of international law and threaten the stability not only of the Middle East but also of the entire global community.