Iran condemns Trump’s call to resume US nuclear testing

Tehran rebukes US plans for atomic tests, citing hypocrisy implicit peaceful atomic programme accusations.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has condemned calls by United States President Donald Trump for the Pentagon to resume atomic weapons testing, calling the determination some “regressive” and irresponsible”.

“Having rebranded its ‘Department of Defense’ arsenic the ‘Department of War,’ a nuclear-armed bully is resuming investigating of atomic weapons,” Araghchi wrote successful a station connected X precocious Thursday.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4Egypt unveils caller billion-dollar depository to lure successful much tourists
• list 2 of 4Pakistan and Afghanistan hold to support truce for different week: Turkiye
• list 3 of 4Trump medication sets rules to barroom groups it opposes from indebtedness relief
• list 4 of 4Russia-Ukraine war: List of cardinal events, time 1,345

“The aforesaid bully has been demonising Iran’s peaceful atomic programme and threatening further strikes connected our safeguarded atomic facilities, each successful blatant usurpation of planetary law,” helium said.

Trump made the astonishment announcement successful a Truth Social station connected Thursday soon earlier gathering with Chinese President Xi Jinping successful South Korea on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Trump said helium had instructed the Pentagon to instantly resume atomic weapons investigating “on an adjacent basis” with different countries similar Russia and China, whose atomic weapons arsenal volition lucifer the US successful “five years”, according to Trump.

Ankit Panda, a atomic information adept and elder chap astatine the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Al Jazeera that Trump’s determination was apt a effect to caller actions by Russia and China alternatively than Washington’s ongoing quality with Iran implicit its atomic programme.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this week that Moscow had tested its Poseidon nuclear-powered ace torpedo, aft separately investigating caller Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missiles earlier successful the month, according to the Reuters quality agency.

China besides precocious displayed its atomic prowess astatine a subject parade successful September, which featured caller and modified atomic weapons systems similar the Dongfeng-5 nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile.

Having rebranded its “Department of Defense” arsenic the “Department of War”, a nuclear-armed bully is resuming investigating of atomic weapons. The aforesaid bully has been demonizing Iran's peaceful atomic programme and threatening further strikes connected our safeguarded atomic facilities, each in… pic.twitter.com/ft4ZGWnFiw

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) October 30, 2025

Despite these nationalist displays of firepower, neither Russia nor China has carried retired a atomic trial – defined arsenic a atomic detonation supra ground, underground, oregon underwater – successful decades, according to the United Nations.

Nuclear investigating is banned by the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban-Treaty of 1996. The US, China, and Iran each signed but person not ratified the archetypal treaty, portion Russia withdrew its ratification successful 2023.

Moscow carried retired its past atomic trial successful 1990 portion inactive the Soviet Union, and China carried retired its past atomic trial successful 1996, according to the UN. The past atomic trial by the United Kingdom was successful 1991, followed by the US successful 1992 and France successful 1996. North Korea is the lone state that has carried retired atomic tests successful the past 2 decades, with its past trial successful 2017.

Trevor Findlay, a atomic information adept and honorary nonrecreational chap astatine the University of Melbourne, told Al Jazeera that it was unclear what benignant of investigating Trump was referring to successful his post.

“My presumption is that helium means rocket launches of nuclear-capable missiles, arsenic North Korea and Russia person been doing precise publicly. These bash not transportation an existent atomic warhead [but apt a dummy], nor bash they make a atomic explosion,” helium said.

“The US already tests its ain missiles periodically, some existing ones and ones successful development, often splashing down successful the Pacific. It does denote them but tends not to marque a large woody of it, similar North Korea and Russia,” helium said.

Trump, meanwhile, has called for the “total dismantlement” of Iran’s atomic programme and says helium does not privation Tehran to get a atomic weapon. In June, the US and Israel besides carried retired aerial strikes connected Iranian subject and atomic facilities successful portion to dilatory its progress.

Tehran has maintained that its atomic programme is for civilian purposes only, and it has ne'er carried retired a atomic test, according to the Carnegie Endowment’s Panda.

“Iran has ne'er done immoderate atomic tests. They’ve perpetually been saying they are not intending to marque a atomic bomb,” Panda told Al Jazeera. “The lone happening that Iran has which mightiness beryllium taken earnestly is immoderate highly enriched uranium. That’s it. They person not adjacent tested a atomic ballistic missile.”