NUCLEAR WEAPONS

At the CNN National Security Debate in Washington, D.C., Romney, Huntsman and Paul proved themselves the strongest GOP candidates, while Bachmann and Perry barely squeaked by and Cain and Santorum were left floundering. Here, read the top quotes of the night, and get a full rundown of the Republican candidates' performances.

A U.S. official emphasized that diplomatic relations between the U.S. and North Korea will not resume until the Hermit Kingdom agrees to recommit to nuclear disarmament as specified by the 2005 Six-Party-Talks.

We have ceased all contact between the UK's financial system and the Iranian financial system,” Osborne said.

It was unclear what exact steps the Treasury planned for Iran but it seemed unlikely it would seek to cut off the Iranian financial sector entirely, a move that could disrupt the global energy markets and harm the U.S. economic recovery.

Israel stepped up the rhetoric against Iran Sunday, as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the time has come to deal with the country and its nuclear program.

The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, has proposed to send a high-level team to Tehran to clarify issues relating to the country's nuclear program.

If all goes well, India's relation with Australia could change forever, as its Prime Minister Julia Gillard is pushing to lift ban on sales of uranium to India.

Seventeen soldiers were killed in an explosion at a Revolutionary Guards arms depot in Iran on Sunday, leaving many western critics to wonder: was it an accident, or has Israel initiated their quest to destroy Iran's nuclear program?

Following the release of a recent U.N. report indicating suspicious activities in Iran's nuclear program, Israeli leaders have indicated a more urgent need to impose stricter sanctions against the program.

At a summit expected to produce at least the new outline of free trade agreements with key Asian markets, Middle East geopolitics took center-stage, at least initially, as the United States and Russia reaffirmed their intention to work and shape a common response regarding Iran's nuclear program.

A massive explosion at a military arms depot near the Iranian capital Tehran on Saturday killed 17 Revolutionary Guards and wounded 15, a representative of the elite fighting force told the semiofficial Fars news agency.

The incident occurred in the village of Bigdaneh, near the city of Karaj.

A massive explosion at a military arms depot near the Iranian capital Tehran killed 15 servicemen on Saturday and seriously wounded several others, in what officials were treating as an accident.

United States Defense Secretary Leon Panetta does not think attacking Iran would be a good idea, even if Iran is building nuclear weapons.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney laid down a foreign policy marker on Wednesday, saying that if elected he would not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

Russia and China voiced their opposition to new round of sanctions against Iran in a meeting in Moscow. Russia and China have expressed “the mutual conviction that the application of new, additional sanctions against Iran will not lead to the desired result,” Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

As expected, Tehran is annoyed with the International Atomic Energy Agency's Tuesday report stating serious concerns about Iran's clandestine program aimed at developing nuclear warheads.

Russia attacked Tuesday's International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran's nuclear program, saying that it would not allow the United Nations to impose any punitive measures on the Islamic republic.

Pakistan is on a clandestine mission of hiding its nuclear arsenal from the Pentagon and is transporting weapons of mass destruction in low-security vans on roads used by civilians, The Atlantic and National Journal report, quoting unnamed U.S. officials.

Moments after the International Atomic Energy Agency issued its report on Iran's nuclear weapons program, Iran went on the defensive, calling the finding a hoax devised by the United States.

Iran has conclusively worked on nuclear weapons, as well as tested weapons' parts, in the past and could still be doing it, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report.