Trump instructs U.S. to resume nuclear weapons testing, citing rival nations’ programs
File photo of a U.S. LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile inside a silo about 60 miles from Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota.
Universal History Archive | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
US President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to restart nuclear weapons tests “on an equal basis”, citing other countries’ testing programs.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Due to other countries’ testing programs, I have directed the War Department to begin testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. This process will begin immediately.”
It was not immediately clear what Trump meant by “on an equal basis.” The US has not conducted a live nuclear weapons test since 1992, when then-President George HW Bush pushed for a nuclear weapons test. unilateral testing moratorium.
In 1996, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed by then-President Bill Clinton.
Trump also claimed in his Truth Social post that the United States has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, adding that Russia and China will achieve their own nuclear weapons stockpiles within five years; this statement was contradicted by independent data.
According to estimates made by Arms Control Association, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons And Federation of American ScientistsRussia is the country with the most nuclear weapons in the world.
Russia has an estimated 5,459 nuclear weapons in 2025, while the United States has 5,177 and China has 600.
