New START expires: ICAN’s Melissa Parke on the dangers of a world without arms control.

On 5 February 2026, the New START treaty between the United States and Russia expires. For the first time since the early 1970s, there will be no arms control agreement at all limiting the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals.

In this short interview, ICAN Executive Director Melissa Parke explains:

-- What New START is – and what its expiration actually means

-- Why the end of this treaty is so serious from a humanitarian and disarmament perspective

-- How it risks fuelling a new nuclear arms race and increasing the danger of mistakes and miscalculation

-- What the Doomsday Clock has to do with it – and why it has moved to just 85 seconds to midnight

-- What needs to happen now, and how the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) offers a path away from the brink

As Melissa says, we cannot rely on luck forever. Letting New START die is a political choice – and so is stepping back from the edge by reducing arsenals, restoring disarmament talks, and working towards the elimination of nuclear weapons under the TPNW.

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