Nuclear Weapon Expansion · Full chronicle and history

China test-fired an intercontinental-range ballistic missile without a warhead. The US State Department criticized Beijing's rapid and opaque nuclear weapons expansion and urged China to engage in arms control discussions.

The Fars News Agency, subordinate to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, published an editorial explicitly stating that Iran must have nuclear weapons to ensure national security.

In April 2026, Yu Maochun said that Zhao Xianggeng, a key figure in advanced nuclear weapons design, has disappeared from public view or been stripped of his status since the U.S. military operation in Venezuela in January.

The New START bilateral nuclear arms control treaty between the United States and Russia, signed in 2010, officially expired on February 5, 2026.