‘Nuclear-armed bully’: Iran blasts Trump for ordering resumption of US nuclear tests
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Nuclear-armed bully’: Iran blasts Trump for ordering resumption of US nuclear tests")
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, US President Donald Trump Photograph: (Combination created using images from AFP)
Iran slammed US President Donald Trump’s order to resume nuclear weapons testing, calling it “regressive and irresponsible.” Tehran’s foreign minister accused Washington of hypocrisy, saying the US demonises Iran’s peaceful program while it restarts tests.
Iran on Thursday (Oct 30) slammed US President Donald Trump’s surprise order to resume nuclear weapons testing, calling it a "regressive and irresponsible" move that threatens global stability. In a post on social media, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Washington of hypocrisy. "A nuclear-armed bully is resuming testing of atomic weapons. The same bully has been demonising Iran's peaceful nuclear program," he said. Iran's reaction comes as Trump announced Wednesday that he had instructed the US Department of War to begin testing nuclear weapons "immediately," marking what would be the first American nuclear test in more than three decades.
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Iran slams 'regressive and irresponsible move'
Labelling the US a "nuclear-armed bully," Agachi in his post called America's announcement of a resumption of nuclear tests "a regressive and irresponsible move and a serious threat to international peace and security".
Why did the US resume nuclear testing?
Trump's nuclear testing order came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Moscow had tested its nuclear-capable Burevestnik cruise missile and Poseidon underwater nuclear drone. Trump said his decision was in response to those developments, arguing that the US must keep pace with its rivals.
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The order came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Moscow had tested its nuclear-capable Burevestnik cruise missile and Poseidon underwater nuclear drone. Trump said his decision was in response to those developments, arguing that the US must keep pace with its rivals.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said that the United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country. He claimed that he hates testing of nuclear weapons “because of the tremendous destructive power,” but said that he is ordering the tests because of the testing programs of other nations. "Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years. 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," he said in the post.
When did the US last test nuclear weapons?
The last US nuclear test, code-named Divider, took place in September 1992 in Nevada before a testing moratorium was imposed by then-President George H.W. Bush.
