“The announcement of the resumption of nuclear weapons testing is a retrograde and irresponsible step and a serious threat to international peace and security,” writes Abbas Araghchi on X.
The move comes after Donald Trump announced that the United States will "immediately" conduct nuclear weapons tests.
"Due to other countries' testing programs, I have ordered the Department of War to begin testing our nuclear weapons on equal terms," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday.
Araghchi is not the only one who has criticized Trump's statement. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is watching the development with concern.
Nuclear weapons tests can never, under any circumstances, be allowed, says his spokesman Farhan Haq.
Russia has emphasized that recent Russian weapons tests have not included nuclear weapons.
"We hope that the president has received correct information," said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that China hopes the United States will continue to abide by the global ban on nuclear weapons tests.
In February this year, experts warned in an article in the journal Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) that a resumption of the US nuclear weapons testing program could trigger an uncontrolled chain of events that could destabilize global security and accelerate a new arms race.
