Trump said while US had refrained from testing for over three decades, several countries including Pakistan continue to carry out underground nuclear trials
Donald Trump, during a recent interview, made a huge revelation when he mentioned that Pakistan has been secretly testing nuclear weapons. He also reiterated that the United States will resume its own nuclear testing to 'keep pace' with other powers, including Russia, China, and North Korea.v
In an interview with CBS News’s 60 Minutes on Sunday, Trump said that while the US had refrained from testing for over three decades, several countries including Pakistan continue to carry out underground nuclear trials away from global scrutiny.
“We’re going to test because they test,” Trump said. “And certainly North Korea’s been testing. Pakistan’s been testing. They don’t go and tell you about it. They test way underground, where people don’t know what’s happening. You just feel a little vibration.”
Trump's comments mark the first time a sitting US president has directly accused Pakistan of continuing nuclear testing.
He said other nations such as Russia and China were also secretly conducting tests while avoiding public discussion. “We’re an open society. We talk about it. They don’t have reporters who are going to be writing about it,” he said.
Trump on US' nuclear test plans
Defending his decision to end a 30-year moratorium on US nuclear testing, Trump said Washington could not remain the “only country” to hold back.
“You have to see how they work,” he said. “Russia’s testing and China’s testing. Other countries are testing. We’re the only country that doesn’t test — and I don’t want to be the only country that doesn’t test.”
Trump claimed that the US has “more nuclear weapons than any other country” and said he had raised denuclearisation issues with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“We have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times,” he said. “Russia has a lot, and China has quite a bit too.”
On Thursday, Trump had already announced that preparations were under way for the immediate resumption of US nuclear testing, citing Russia’s recent trials of advanced nuclear-capable systems, including the Poseidon underwater drone.
“They seem to all be nuclear testing,” he told reporters before boarding Air Force One. “We have more nuclear weapons than anybody. We don’t do testing... but with others doing testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do also.”
Asked whether renewed testing could make the global nuclear landscape more volatile, Trump replied: “I think we have it pretty well locked up.”
The United States last conducted a full-scale underground nuclear test in September 1992. Since then, successive administrations have observed a voluntary moratorium, relying instead on computer simulations and subcritical testing to ensure arsenal reliability.
Trump doubles down on Ind-Pak ceasefire claims
During the interview, Trump also repeated his claim that he helped prevent a “nuclear war” between India and Pakistan earlier this year, crediting his use of trade and tariffs for forcing both nations to de-escalate.
“They were going to have a nuclear war,” Trump said. “And I told both of them, ‘If you guys don’t work out a deal fast, you’re not going to do any business with the United States.’ They do a lot of business with us. They worked out a deal and they stopped the war.”
Trump was referring to the escalation on tensions following Operation Sindoor - precision strikes on nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 civilians.
The US President claimed that his “tariff diplomacy” had been instrumental in cooling tensions. “If it wasn’t for tariffs and trade, I wouldn’t have been able to make the deals,” he said.
India has repeatedly refuted Trump’s assertions, maintaining that the ceasefire was achieved through bilateral mechanisms, specifically talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs), without any third-party role.
New Delhi has also reiterated that all outstanding issues with Pakistan, including those concerning Jammu and Kashmir, are to be resolved bilaterally.
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