The UN warned about the risks of new nuclear weapons tests

The threat of nuclear weapons use has become the most serious since the Cold War. This was announced on June 18 by the UN Deputy Secretary General for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu.

As Nakamitsu noted, the increased risks were caused by "aggravated geopolitical tensions and large-scale strategic rivalry."

"In this context, the rhetoric related to nuclear weapons is escalating — there are threats of its use, concerns about a possible resumption of nuclear tests, as rumors are circulating, and we are very concerned about this," the UN Deputy Secretary General said in an interview with RBC.

According to her, there is a feeling that "the lessons of the cold war are being forgotten," and the arms control system is experiencing a deep crisis. As the diplomat stressed, the implementation of measures to reduce nuclear risk should be a top priority. She also rejected accusations that the emphasis on such measures is a way to delay real disarmament.

"Many countries express concern that focusing on risk reduction is just an excuse to delay actual disarmament. But this is not the case. Of course, risk reduction will not replace nuclear disarmament, but it can play an important role as the first and most obvious step towards mitigating the nuclear threat and preventing the use of nuclear weapons," the High Representative noted.

At the same time, Nakamitsu called on countries to fulfill their disarmament commitments, act transparently and responsibly, and strengthen the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"The only way to eliminate the nuclear threat is to completely eliminate nuclear weapons themselves," she said.

Nakamitsu warned that if at least one state resumed nuclear testing, there was a risk of a chain reaction — other countries could follow suit. In this context, she stressed the need to protect the norms of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which has not yet entered into force due to the lack of ratification by a number of key States, including the United States, China and Iran.

Hold it tight: how does the nuclear potential of India and Pakistan compare?

Both likely participants in a full-fledged military conflict possess an impressive number of warheads and their means of delivery.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian criticized supporters of the creation of nuclear weapons in the Islamic Republic during a parliamentary session on June 16. He stressed that the republic's policy is that the country will not receive nuclear weapons and will not seek to create them. According to him, this has been repeatedly stated by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.