WASHINGTON, Oct 31, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump's surprise 
directive to begin nuclear weapons testing provoked global criticism on 
Friday, as it raised the specter of renewed superpower tensions.

The announcement on social media was issued just before Trump -- who boasts 
frequently about being a peace president -- went into a summit with Chinese 
leader Xi Jinping in South Korea.

Trump's announcement left much unanswered -- chiefly whether he meant testing 
weapons systems or actually conducting test explosions, something the United 
States has not done since 1992.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth defended Trump's directive as a "responsible" 
move.

"We need to have a credible nuclear deterrent. That is the baseline of our 
deterrence," Hegseth told reporters on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian 
regional defense summit in Malaysia. "Having understanding and resuming 
testing is a pretty responsible, very responsible way to do that."

US foe Iran called the directive "regressive and irresponsible", adding that 
it was a threat to international security.

"A nuclear-armed bully is resuming testing of atomic weapons. The same bully 
has been demonizing Iran's peaceful nuclear program," foreign minister Abbas 
Araghchi posted on social media.

Japanese atomic bomb survivors group Nihon Hidankyo sent a letter of protest 
to the US embassy in Japan.

The directive "directly contradicts the efforts by nations around the world 
striving for a peaceful world without nuclear weapons and is utterly 
unacceptable," the Nobel Peace Prize-winning group said in the letter 
obtained by AFP.

- Global nuclear testing ban -

Following Trump's meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, China's foreign 
ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun urged the United States to "earnestly abide" by 
a global nuclear testing ban.

China and the United States observe a de facto moratorium on testing nuclear 
warheads, though Russia and the United States regularly run military drills 
involving nuclear-capable systems.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said through a spokesman that "nuclear 
testing can never be permitted under any circumstances."

The United States has been a signatory since 1996 to the Comprehensive 
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which bans all atomic test explosions, whether for 
military or civilian purposes.

Vice President JD Vance said the US nuclear arsenal needed to be tested to 
ensure it actually "functions properly," but did not elaborate on what type 
of tests Trump had ordered.

The president's statement "speaks for itself," Vance told reporters at the 
White House on Thursday.

"It's an important part of American national security to make sure that this 
nuclear arsenal we have actually functions properly, and that's part of a 
testing regime," he added.

The announcement came days after Russia declared it had tested nuclear-
capable, nuclear-powered cruise missiles and sea drones.

"Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the 
Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis," 
Trump said on Truth Social earlier this week.

Trump also claimed that the United States has more nuclear weapons than any 
other country.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its 
latest annual report that Russia possesses 5,459 nuclear warheads, compared 
to 5,177 for the United States and 600 for China.

The Kremlin questioned whether Trump was well-informed about Russia's 
military activities.

The recent weapons drills "cannot in any way be interpreted as a nuclear 
test," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

"We hope that the information was conveyed correctly to President Trump."

Peskov then implied that Russia would conduct its own live warhead tests if 
Trump did it first.

Further muddying the waters, Trump also repeated to reporters a previous 
claim that he wants negotiations with Russia and China on reducing nuclear 
weapons forces.

"Denuclearization would be a tremendous thing," he said.

- Last US test in 1992 -

The United States conducted 1,054 nuclear tests between July 16, 1945, when 
the first was conducted in New Mexico, and 1992.

Its two nuclear attacks on Japan during World War II make it the only country 
to have used the weapons in combat.

The last US nuclear test explosion was in September 1992, a 20-kiloton 
underground detonation at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site.

Then-president George H.W. Bush imposed a moratorium on further tests in 
October 1992 that has been continued by successive administrations.

Nuclear testing was replaced by non-nuclear and subcritical experiments using 
advanced computer simulations.