President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about potentially resuming U.S. nuclear weapons testing have ignited a firestorm of debate both at home and abroad, reviving memories of Cold War-era brinkmanship and raising fresh concerns about global arms control. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on October 31, 2025, Trump declined to clarify whether the United States would conduct underground nuclear detonation tests, simply stating, “You’ll find out very soon.” This cryptic comment followed a Truth Social post earlier in the week where he claimed to have instructed the Department of Defense to “immediately” begin testing nuclear weapons, citing similar efforts by Russia and China as justification.
The ambiguity of Trump’s statements has left officials, lawmakers, and nuclear experts scrambling for clarity. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, addressing reporters the same day, offered few specifics but signaled support for the idea, calling resuming nuclear testing “pretty responsible” and a means to maintain a credible nuclear deterrent. “The president was clear: We need to have a credible nuclear deterrent,” Hegseth said, according to the Associated Press. “Resuming testing is a pretty responsible—very responsible—way to do that. And I think it makes nuclear conflict less likely.” He added, “It’s the right directive. We’re moving out quickly.”
Yet, even top military officials seem uncertain about the administration’s intentions. Vice Adm. Richard Correll, Trump’s nominee to lead the United States Strategic Command, which oversees the nation’s nuclear arsenal, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on October 30 that he wouldn’t “presume that the president’s words meant nuclear testing,” referring specifically to detonations. Correll emphasized that the current U.S. testing program relies on modeling, simulation, and subcritical experiments—those that do not create a nuclear chain reaction. “I don’t have any insight into the president’s intent,” he admitted, highlighting the confusion swirling around the announcement.
Trump’s messaging, both in his social media post and subsequent comments to the press, seemed to conflate missile tests—routine launches of nuclear-capable delivery systems—with the far more consequential act of detonating a nuclear warhead. The U.S. has not conducted such a test since 1992, following the adoption of a moratorium that remains in effect today. The last underground test occurred at what is now the Nevada National Security Site, 65 miles from Las Vegas. Since then, the site has hosted only nonexplosive experiments to certify the reliability and safety of the nation’s nuclear stockpile, as U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen noted.
Rosen, a Nevada Democrat, joined a chorus of lawmakers voicing alarm at the prospect of renewed nuclear testing. “During the era of nuclear testing, millions of people and acres of land were contaminated by radiation. And my state of Nevada is still suffering the consequences,” Rosen said, according to the Las Vegas Sun. “If this resumption happens, the amount of radiation exposure and destruction would be felt across the country and around the world. Make no mistake, this would be devastating and catastrophic.”
Taking swift action, U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, also of Nevada, introduced legislation on October 31 aimed at preventing any new nuclear weapons tests on American soil. The proposed bill would amend the Atomic Energy Defense Act to prohibit nuclear weapons testing, though it would not restrict “subcritical” tests that do not cause a nuclear explosion. Titus lambasted Trump’s posture, arguing it “puts Nevadans back in the crosshairs of toxic radiation and environmental destruction” and undermines decades of U.S.-led arms control efforts.
International reaction has been equally sharp. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned Trump’s call for renewed nuclear testing as both “regressive” and “irresponsible.” In a post on X, Araghchi accused the U.S. of acting like a “nuclear-armed bully” and pointed out the hypocrisy of demonizing Iran’s peaceful nuclear program while threatening new atomic detonations. “Having rebranded its ‘Department of Defense’ as the ‘Department of War,’ a nuclear-armed bully is resuming testing of atomic weapons,” Araghchi wrote. He also referenced recent U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, arguing that the U.S. was in “blatant violation of international law.”
Trump’s announcement appeared to be a direct response to recent military developments by Russia and China. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently revealed successful tests of the Poseidon nuclear-powered underwater drone and the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, while China showcased new and modified nuclear weapons systems in a September parade. Yet, as nuclear security expert Ankit Panda told Al Jazeera, neither Russia nor China has conducted an actual nuclear explosion test in decades—Russia’s last was in 1990 and China’s in 1996. The United Nations and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization have confirmed that North Korea is the only country to have carried out explosive nuclear tests in the past two decades, the last being in 2017.
The U.S., China, and Iran have all signed but not ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), while Russia withdrew its ratification in 2023. Despite this, all nuclear-armed states except North Korea have observed the CTBT’s prohibition on explosive testing. The U.S. military continues to test missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads, but these tests do not involve nuclear detonations—a crucial distinction, as underscored by experts like Trevor Findlay of the University of Melbourne. “My assumption is that he [Trump] means missile launches of nuclear-capable missiles, as North Korea and Russia have been doing very publicly. These do not carry an actual nuclear warhead nor do they create a nuclear explosion,” Findlay explained.
Back in Washington, confusion reigns over which agency would even oversee a renewed nuclear testing program. While Trump directed his order to the Department of Defense, explosive nuclear testing would actually fall under the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. The Pentagon, for its part, has said only that it would “work with the Department of Energy,” offering no details on the type or timeline of any prospective tests.
Meanwhile, nuclear weapons and arms control experts have raised alarms that any move by the U.S. to restart explosive nuclear testing could trigger a dangerous global domino effect. The Kremlin has already warned that if the U.S. resumes testing, Russia will follow suit—potentially reigniting Cold War-era tensions and undermining decades of efforts to limit the spread and destructiveness of nuclear arms.
As the world waits for more concrete details from the White House, lawmakers, scientists, and international leaders alike are left to ponder the potential consequences. Will the U.S. truly break a 33-year moratorium on nuclear detonations, or is this just bluster aimed at rivals? For now, the only certainty is uncertainty—and the stakes could hardly be higher.
