Trump Ends Nuclear Test Ban

President Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing, effectively ending a 33-year moratorium on such activities. The significant policy shift, announced on Thursday, October 30, 2025, marks a dramatic departure from decades of international arms control efforts, as reported by vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com.

The directive came via a post on Truth Social, where President Trump stated that the decision was a response to "other countries' testing programs," specifically mentioning Russia and China. This move is expected to trigger strong global reactions and reshape discussions on nuclear disarmament, according to TRT World.

The announcement was made just minutes before President Trump's high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, as noted by Al Jazeera. This timing suggests a strategic play to assert U.S. leverage in ongoing trade and security negotiations, according to The Economic Times.

The United States last conducted a full nuclear test in 1992, under the codename "Divider," before President George H.W. Bush implemented a moratorium, The Washington Post reported. This new order would mark the first U.S. nuclear detonation in over three decades, ending a voluntary halt that has been a cornerstone of global non-proliferation efforts, as detailed by Truthout.

Russia and China were quick to express alarm over the U.S. decision. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned that Russia would respond accordingly if the moratorium was violated, according to pbs. China's foreign ministry urged Washington to respect its commitments under the global test ban treaty, TRT World stated.

Arms control experts have widely condemned the move, calling it unnecessary and provocative. Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, told The Times of India that there is "no technical, military, or political reason to resume nuclear explosive testing." He emphasized that such a step could trigger a dangerous arms race and undermine global non-proliferation efforts.

• The U.S. voluntary moratorium on nuclear explosive testing has been in place since 1992, following the last full-scale test. This period of restraint was initiated by President George H.W. Bush and continued by subsequent administrations, as Congress.gov detailed. The U.S. signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 1996, which prohibits all nuclear explosions, but never ratified it, meaning it is not legally bound by the treaty, Al Jazeera explained.

• President Trump's rationale for resuming testing stems from claims about rival nations' activities. He specifically cited recent Russian tests of nuclear-powered weapons, including the Burevestnik cruise missile and the Poseidon underwater drone, as reported by Seeking Alpha. Trump also expressed concerns that China's nuclear arsenal could "catch up" to that of the U.S. within five years, according to Al Jazeera.

• International reactions have been swift and largely negative. Russia's state news agency RIA quoted a senior lawmaker, Andrei Kartapolov, saying the U.S. decision would push the world into "an era of unpredictability and open confrontation." China's foreign ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, urged the U.S. to uphold global strategic balance and stability, as TRT World reported.

• Experts argue that resuming nuclear testing is not technically necessary for maintaining the U.S. arsenal. The U.S. has a robust Science-Based Stockpile Stewardship program that uses computer simulations and subcritical tests to ensure the reliability and safety of its nuclear weapons without live detonations, according to the Arms Control Association. Research Analyst Shawn Rostker, in an op-ed for Just Security, stated that explosive tests would "neither strengthen U.S. security nor compel challengers to submit."

• The potential implications for global arms control are profound. Resuming tests would deal a significant blow to the CTBT and the broader nuclear non-proliferation regime, which many countries in the Asia-Pacific region strongly support, as an analysis in Just Security highlighted. It could also encourage other nuclear-armed states, such as China, Russia, and North Korea, to follow suit, potentially triggering a new nuclear arms race, Truthout warned.

• Historically, nuclear testing has had devastating health and environmental consequences. Past atmospheric and underground tests contaminated vast areas and exposed generations to radiation, leading to public outcry and scientific evidence that built momentum for restraint, according to an analysis by vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com. A return to testing could reopen these wounds and reintroduce radioactive risks to ecosystems and communities, as noted by the Arms Control Association.

• The U.S. last conducted a nuclear test in 1992, with Russia's last test in 1990 and China's in 1996, before the CTBT was opened for signature, as detailed by the United Nations. While the U.S. has maintained the ability to resume tests at the Nevada National Security Site, experts like Daryl Kimball estimate it would take at least 36 months of preparation to resume contained underground tests, according to The Washington Post.

• Despite President Trump's claim that the U.S. possesses more nuclear weapons than any other country, the Federation of American Scientists indicates that Russia holds the world's largest nuclear arsenal with 4,309 warheads, followed by the U.S. with 3,700, and China with 600, pbs reported. This discrepancy underscores the political messaging behind the announcement, which some analysts view as a show of force rather than a response to an immediate security need, as suggested by vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com.