White House officials have discussed the possible nuclear tests, writes The Washington Post.
According to the information, the matter came up at a meeting of senior officials representing the top national security agencies May 15, following accusations from administration officials that Russia and China are conducting low-yield nuclear tests — an assertion that has not been substantiated by publicly available evidence and that both countries have denied.
The article reads that the meeting did not conclude with any agreement to conduct a test, but a senior administration official said that the proposal is very much an ongoing conversation. Another official said a decision was ultimately made to take other measures in response to threats posed by Russia and China and avoid a resumption of testing.
According to the information, the officials believe that demonstrating to Moscow and Beijing that the United States could “rapid test” could prove useful from a negotiating standpoint as Washington seeks a trilateral deal to regulate the arsenals of the biggest nuclear powers.
The United States has not conducted a nuclear test explosion since September 1992.
