Overview
- Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth called the move a responsible step to preserve a credible deterrent, and Vice President JD Vance said tests are needed to ensure the arsenal works properly.
- Iran denounced the decision as irresponsible, China urged respect for the test ban, the United Nations warned against any nuclear testing, and Japan’s hibakusha group Nihon Hidankyo sent a protest letter calling the plan totally unacceptable.
- Trump announced the order shortly before meeting China’s Xi Jinping in South Korea, elevating diplomatic tensions around nuclear policy.
- The United States is a signatory to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, prompting warnings that testing would breach the pact, while the New START treaty faces suspended inspections and is nearing expiration.
- Trump’s claim that the United States has the largest nuclear arsenal is contradicted by SIPRI estimates placing Russia’s stockpile above America’s, with China far smaller.