US President Donald Trump issued an unexpected instruction to commence nuclear weapons testing, sparking global outrage and raising the prospect of fresh superpower tensions.
The declaration on social media came shortly before Trump, who regularly boasts about being a peace president, was about to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping for a meeting in South Korea.
Trump’s remark left many questions unanswered, particularly if he meant testing weapons systems or actually performing test explosions, which the United States has not done since 1992.
Iran, a key US rival, slammed the memo on Friday, calling it “regressive and irresponsible” and a threat to international security.
“A nuclear-armed bully is resuming testing of atomic weapons. The same bully has been demonizing Iran’s peaceful nuclear program,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on social media.
On Friday, the Japanese atomic bomb survivors’ group Nihon Hidankyo addressed a letter of protest to the US embassy in Japan.
The decision “directly contradicts the efforts of nations around the world striving for a peaceful world without nuclear weapons and is utterly unacceptable,” the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization stated in a letter acquired by AFP.
Following Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Guo Jiakun, encouraged the US to “earnestly abide” by a global nuclear test prohibition.
China and the United States have a de facto ban on nuclear warhead testing; however, Russia and the United States conduct frequent military drills employing nuclear-capable equipment.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated through his deputy spokesman that “nuclear testing can never be permitted under any circumstances.”
Since 1996, the United States has been a signatory to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which prohibits all nuclear test explosions, whether military or civilian.
Vice President JD Vance stated that the US nuclear arsenal needed to be tested to ensure it “functions properly” but did not specify what types of testing Trump had authorized.
The president’s statement “speaks for itself,” Vance told White House reporters.
“It’s an important part of American national security to make sure that this nuclear arsenal we have actually functions properly, and that’s part of a testing regime,” he added.
It comes just days after Russia said it had tested nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered cruise missiles and naval drones.
“Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis,” Trump said on Truth Social earlier this week.
Trump also stated that the US possesses more nuclear weapons than any other country.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)’s most recent annual report, Russia has 5,489 nuclear warheads, while the United States has 5,177 and China has 600.
The Kremlin questioned if Trump was knowledgeable about Russia’s military activities.
The latest weapons drills “cannot in any way be interpreted as a nuclear test,” spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“We hope that the information was conveyed correctly to President Trump.”
Peskov suggested that if Trump conducted live warhead tests first, Russia would follow suit.
Additionally, Trump reiterated his desire for negotiations with Russia and China to reduce nuclear weapons. “Denuclearization would be a tremendous thing,” he said.
