Overview
- President Donald Trump says he ordered an immediate resumption of U.S. nuclear weapons testing, but no timeline or underground detonation has been publicly confirmed.
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the forthcoming work would be nonnuclear “system” or noncritical tests, contradicting the notion of explosive blasts.
- Pakistan and China rejected Trump’s allegations of recent nuclear explosions, with Islamabad reaffirming its 1998 moratorium on testing.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia has not resumed testing and is seeking clarification from Washington, and the STRATCOM nominee told Congress neither Russia nor China has conducted nuclear explosive tests.
- IAEA officials and experts warned that any U.S. return to explosive testing would erode non‑proliferation norms and risk a new arms race; the U.S. last conducted a nuclear test in 1992 and has not ratified the CTBT.