President Emmanuel Macron is updating France's nuclear deterrence doctrine as Europe worries about Russia and doubts U.S. protection under Donald Trump. On Monday, Macron will speak at a French submarine base and signal how France thinks about using nuclear weapons. The war in Ukraine and Russia's nuclear threats have shaken Europe's security assumptions. Analysts say some Europeans are looking to France for a backup nuclear guarantee. France is the only nuclear power in the European Union. Macron last laid down policy in 2020 and said France has fewer than 300 warheads. Experts are listening for any stronger promise to protect allies.
Saudi Arabia could have some form of uranium enrichment within the kingdom under a proposed nuclear deal with the United States. That's according to congressional documents and an arms control group. Both U.S. Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden tried to reach a nuclear deal with the kingdom to share American technology. Nonproliferation experts warn any spinning centrifuges within Saudi Arabia could open the door to a possible weapons program for the kingdom. The kingdom's assertive crown prince has suggested he could pursue a nuclear weapon if Tehran obtains an atomic bomb.
The Kremlin says it regrets the expiration of the last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States, while President Donald Trump declared he was against keeping its limits and wants a better deal. The end of the New START treaty left no caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than half a century, fueling fears of a new nuclear arms race. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed readiness Thursday to stick to the pact's limits for another year if Washington agreed. But Trump said he wants a new pact. The treaty was signed in 2010. It was extended in 2021 for five more years.
The last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States is set to expire this week, removing any caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century. The end of the New START Treaty sets the stage for what many fear could be an unconstrained nuclear arms race. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared his readiness to stick to the treaty's limits for one more year if Washington follows suit, but U.S. President Donald Trump has been noncommittal about extending it. Arms control advocates have warned that the treaty's termination would fuel a renewed arms race.
President Donald Trump has declined to say whether he plans to resume underground nuclear detonation tests. He had seemed to suggest that was a possibility in a social media post this week. The post raised concerns the U.S. would begin testing nuclear weapons for the first time in three decades. The president told reporters, "You'll find out very soon" when he was asked about it. Trump said, "We're going to do some testing" and "Other countries do it. If they're going to do it, we're going to." But he refused to offer more details. He spoke aboard Air Force One as he headed to Florida on Friday for the weekend.
President Donald Trump has appeared to suggest on social media that the U.S. resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time in three decades. There was no indication that the U.S. would start detonating warheads, but the president offered few details about what seemed to be a significant shift in U.S. policy. He made the announcement on social media minutes before meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday in South Korea. The U.S. military already regularly tests its missiles that are capable of delivering a warhead, but it has not detonated the weapons since 1992 because of a test ban.
Hiroshima is marking the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the western Japanese city. Many aging survivors express frustration over growing global support for nuclear weapons as deterrence. With survivors' numbers rapidly declining and their average age now over 86, this anniversary is a significant milestone. The bombing on Aug. 6, 1945, killed 140,000 people and a second bomb on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more. Representatives from 120 countries including Russia and Belarus attended the ceremony Wednesday. Survivors and their families also paid tribute to the victims at the peace memorial park.
