On October 30, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that “because of other countries’ programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.”[1] It remains unclear what exactly the term ‘nuclear testing’ meant, but the re-emergence of the nuclear testing rhetoric has raised concerns among the policy makers and arms control specialists regarding the erosion of the long-standing non-nuclear testing norms and the fragility of the traditional arms control mechanisms. Adding to the concerns, on October 31, 2025, the United States, for the first time, voted against the annual UN First Committee resolution in support of the global moratorium on nuclear testing and the CTBT. The U.S. Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, later tried to downplay the situation, stating: “I think the tests we are talking about right now are system tests. These are what we call non-critical explosions.” However, despite this reassurance, the ambiguity surrounding President Trump’s remarks has generated a debate regarding the U.S. strategic intentions and its broader implications for global stability.[2]
