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FM: US resumption of nuke tests ‘regressive, irresponsible’
Iran's foreign minister condemned US plan to resume nuclear arms testing as "regressive and irresponsible," calling the move a serious threat to international peace and security.
“Having rebranded its “Department of Defense” as the “Department of War”, a nuclear-armed bully is resuming testing of atomic weapons. The same bully has been demonizing Iran's peaceful nuclear program and threatening further strikes on our safeguarded nuclear facilities, all in blatant violation of international law,” Abbas Araghchi said in a post on x.
"The (US) announcement of a resumption of nuclear tests is a regressive and irresponsible move and a serious threat to international peace and security," he added.
The Iranian official condemned the US for its longstanding criticism of Iran's peaceful nuclear program while simultaneously resuming its own atomic weapons tests, actions he says violate international law.
"Make no mistake: The US is the World’s Most Dangerous Proliferation Risk," Araghchi stated.
The United States has long accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons and in June bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities in violation of international law.
Araghchi further urged the global community to unite in holding the US accountable for normalizing the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the US military to immediately restart the process for testing nuclear weapons after a halt of 33 years, a move that appeared to be a message to rival nuclear powers China and Russia.
Trump made the surprise announcement on Truth Social while aboard his Marine One helicopter flying to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for a trade-negotiating session in Busan, South Korea.
"Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately," Trump posted.
"Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years."
It was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to nuclear-explosive testing, which would be carried out by the National Nuclear Security Administration, or flight testing of nuclear-capable missiles.
No nuclear power — other than North Korea most recently in 2017 — has carried out explosive nuclear testing in over 25 years.