Iran has sharply condemned US President Donald Trump’s call to restart nuclear weapons testing, calling the move “regressive” and “irresponsible.”
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticised the US in a post on X late Thursday, accusing Washington of acting like a “nuclear-armed bully” while falsely portraying Iran’s nuclear programme as a threat, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
“The same bully has been demonising Iran’s peaceful nuclear program,” Araghchi said, adding that US threats against Iranian nuclear facilities violate international law.
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… pic.twitter.com/ft4ZGWnFiw
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) October 30, 2025
Trump announced his directive to the Pentagon ahead of a meeting with China’s Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in South Korea. He claimed the US must compete “on an equal basis” with Russia and China, arguing their arsenals will match Washington’s within five years.
Russia recently tested a Poseidon nuclear-powered torpedo and Burevestnik cruise missiles, while China showcased new nuclear-capable ballistic systems in a military parade.
However, neither country has conducted an actual nuclear explosion test in decades, according to the United Nations.
Nuclear security experts told Trump’s move is likely a reaction to Russia and China, not Iran. Analysts say the type of “testing” Trump referenced remains unclear but may involve missile launches without nuclear warheads.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty bans all nuclear explosions, though the US, China, and Iran signed but never ratified it. Russia officially withdrew ratification in 2023.
North Korea remains the only country to have conducted nuclear tests in the last 20 years.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is civilian, has never conducted a nuclear test, and does not seek a bomb.
“Iran has never done any nuclear tests,” analyst Ankit Panda said. “They have highly enriched uranium — that’s it.”