No Nuclear Tests Planned Despite Trump's Call: US Energy Secretary

Mon Nov 03 2025 19:10:16 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Concerns escalate over nuclear weapon testing as Trump urges military to resume tests. Energy Secretary clarifies plans are not for nuclear explosions.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright reassured the public that the US is not planning nuclear explosions despite President Trump's directive to resume weapons testing. Wright described the planned tests as 'non-critical explosions' and sought to calm fears among residents near testing sites. Trump's remarks, made on social media, have raised questions regarding the US's nuclear strategy, particularly as rival nations reportedly continue their own testing. While Wright emphasized safety, he acknowledged the need for tests to ensure the effectiveness of the country's nuclear arsenal.

The US is not planning to conduct nuclear explosions, Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said, calming global concerns after President Donald Trump called on the military to resume weapons testing.

These are not nuclear explosions, Wright told Fox News on Sunday. These are what we call non-critical explosions.

The comments come days after Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had directed defense officials to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis with rival powers.

But Wright, whose agency oversees testing, said people living in the Nevada desert should have no worries about seeing a mushroom cloud.

Americans near historic test sites such as the Nevada National Security Site have no cause for concern, Wright said. So you're testing all the other parts of a nuclear weapon to make sure they deliver the appropriate geometry, and they set up the nuclear explosion.

Trump's comments on Truth Social last week were interpreted by many as a sign the US was preparing to restart full-scale nuclear blasts for the first time since 1992.

In an interview with 60 Minutes on CBS, Trump reiterated his position. I'm saying that we're going to test nuclear weapons like other countries do, yes, Trump said when asked by CBS's Norah O'Donnell if he planned for the US to detonate a nuclear weapon for the first time in more than 30 years.

As a responsible nuclear-weapons state, China has always... upheld a self-defense nuclear strategy and abided by its commitment to suspend nuclear testing, spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular press conference in Beijing.

According to US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), China has roughly doubled its nuclear arsenal in the past five years and is expected to exceed 1,000 weapons by 2030.