Overview
- Pressed by reporters, President Trump said testing would begin "very soon" and declined to rule out underground detonations.
- The United Nations condemned any return to nuclear detonations, with spokesman Farhan Haq calling such testing unacceptable.
- The Kremlin said recent Russian weapons trials were not nuclear explosions and warned it would respond if the global moratorium is broken.
- Experts note explosive tests are overseen by the Energy Department’s NNSA, not the Pentagon, and say restoring underground testing could take roughly 24 to 36 months.
- Arms-control advocates warn that resuming detonations could erode nonproliferation norms and heighten risks as New START approaches its 2026 expiration.