Standing near Air Force One before departing for the United States on October 30, 2025, former U.S. President Donald Trump announced that America will begin testing nuclear weapons, a statement that has stirred global concern and debate over its implications for international security.\u201cIn response to other nations\u2019 testing programs, I have directed the Department of Defense to begin testing our nuclear weapons,\u201d Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, ahead of his scheduled meeting with the Chinese president on Thursday. \u201cThis program must start immediately,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While details remain unclear, the White House has not yet provided clarification on whether Trump\u2019s directive refers to actual nuclear detonations or subsystem and delivery mechanism tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only North Korea has conducted live nuclear tests since the 1990s, with its last detonation in 2017. Other nuclear-armed states \u00a0including the U.S., Russia, and China \u00a0have relied on computer simulations and subcritical experiments rather than full-scale tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If carried out, Trump\u2019s announcement would mark the first U.S. nuclear test since 1992, when the last underground detonation took place in Nevada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Security analysts warn that such a move could reignite a global nuclear arms race at a time of mounting geopolitical tension between Washington, Moscow, and Beijing.\u201cThe concern is that no nuclear-armed state has tested a weapon for decades, except North Korea,\u201d said Jamie Kwong of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. \u201cA return to testing could have devastating consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Darya Dolzikova, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, Trump\u2019s statement may not yet signal a concrete policy shift \u00a0but it adds to the growing uncertainty in global disarmament efforts. \u201cWe\u2019re already seeing a world more prone to proliferation and arms competition than at any point in recent decades,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recent flashpoints \u00a0from Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine to rising tensions over Taiwan and the Korean Peninsula \u00a0have intensified fears that a new nuclear standoff could emerge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The New START Treaty, the last major arms-control agreement between the U.S. and Russia, is due to expire in February next year, further heightening global anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump claimed the U.S. possesses \u201cmore nuclear weapons than any other country,\u201d a statement that contradicts recent data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to SIPRI, Russia holds about 5,459 nuclear warheads, followed by the United States with 5,177, and China with around 600.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moscow has recently tested new delivery systems designed to penetrate U.S. missile defenses, including underwater and hypersonic platforms. Many analysts believe Trump\u2019s announcement may have been triggered by these developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Kremlin swiftly warned that if the U.S. abandons testing bans, Russia \u201cwill not hesitate to respond in kind.\u201d Meanwhile, China urged Washington to uphold its commitments under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), reaffirming its own moratorium on nuclear testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington, called the potential resumption of nuclear testing \u201ca grave mistake for international security.\u201cIf the U.S. and Russia fail to renew dialogue on nuclear arms limits, we could soon see a dangerous three-way arms race between the U.S., Russia, and China,\u201d Kimball warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, added that humanity \u201cshould be deeply alarmed.\u201cFor the first time since the Cold War, the global nuclear arsenal is growing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United States last conducted a nuclear test in Nevada in 1992. Reopening the site would take at least three years of preparation, according to experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Modern testing programs now rely heavily on simulation and subcritical analysis rather than live detonations \u00a0a method considered safer and more consistent with existing treaties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, as analyst Robert Peters of the Heritage Foundation noted, \u201cThe primary motivation may not be technical, but political \u00a0to send a signal of strength to America\u2019s adversaries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While many analysts dismissed the practicality of resuming live nuclear tests, nearly all agreed that Trump\u2019s declaration paints a troubling picture of global security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rhys Crilley, a nuclear studies expert at the University of Glasgow, warned:\u201cIf a new nuclear arms race hasn\u2019t already begun, we are perilously close to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added:\u201cEvery day, I think about the growing possibility of a global conflict involving nuclear weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first U.S. nuclear test, codenamed Trinity, was conducted in July 1945 in New Mexico. Weeks later, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, marking the only wartime use of nuclear weapons in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, 80 years later, Trump\u2019s words have reopened a haunting question:
Is the world on the brink of a new nuclear age?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Author: Justinmind HARERIMANA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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