War With Iran May Be Ushering in a New Nuclear Age

James Walker, CEO of NANO Nuclear, said that his company is about to put in for an NRC permit to build a new nuclear reactor and will become one of only a handful of companies looking to build up American's nuclear landscape. Walker said that despite existing military technology that utilizes nuclear power, transferring that access and ability to private companies has never been done before.

During the same week that the US president issued an ultimatum to Iran’s leadership to surrender its nuclear program, his administration was circulating a report giving its regional rival, Saudi Arabia, potential access to uranium-enrichment and -reprocessing technology, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. One diplomat from a European state said the need for the continent to develop its own nuclear capabilities was an active discussion across its capitals.

Donald Trump’s willingness to attack adversaries while rattling allies is threatening to push the world into a new nuclear age.

From the North Atlantic to the West Pacific, governments are debating more publicly than before whether they, too, must get the bomb. Germany and Poland, who have long been satisfied to sit under the US nuclear umbrella, have in the wake of Trump’s musings about taking Greenland welcomed French overtures about extending the country’s own strategic deterrent across the continent.

China and Russia, both longstanding members of the exclusive club of nuclear-armed nations, have raised alarm about the risk of weapons proliferation in Japan and South Korea, even as they upgrade their own arsenals. The US, the only country to use a nuclear weapon against a civilian population, is assessing a return to atomic bomb tests to comply with an executive order by Trump after a hiatus of more than three decades. President Donald Trump lashed out at allies for not supporting the US war in Iran, arguing the US will not fight for their interests as they struggle to get jet fuel blocked from traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.

“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” he wrote in a social media post.

Trump specifically targeted France, writing in a separate post that the country had been “VERY UNHELPFUL” against Iran, a month after the US and Israel began a widespread bombing campaign that has damaged Iran’s military infrastructure and killed several key leaders.

“The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!!,” he wrote.

Trump told countries seeking the fuel to just “take it,” arguing the US had already weakened Iran enough.

“All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT,” he wrote in.

“The hard part is done,” he said. “Go get your own oil.”

While the Iran war has severely disrupted global energy supplies, the pressure on aviation is particularly intense. Total jet fuel demand amounted to 7.8 million barrels a day last year, including kerosene — the base product, which is also used for heating — according to figures from the International Energy Agency.

Now, the effective closure of the Strait

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