President Donald Trump appeared to suggest the U.S. will resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time in three decades, saying it would be on an “equal basis” with Russia and China.

Amid growing global tensions, major gaps in diplomatic relations and fitful efforts to reduce the weapons stockpile, some experts are warning it’s time for world leaders to renew their focus on preventing nuclear war.

The assessment, which has not been previously reported, was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s intelligence arm. It is based on a battle damage assessment conducted by U.S. Central Command in the aftermath of the U.S. strikes, one of the sources said.

Even though the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is of a different design than Chernobyl and is protected from fire, nuclear safety experts and the International Atomic Energy Agency warn that waging war in and around such facilities presents extreme risks.

“Steady is not good news,” said members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. “We are stuck in a perilous moment.”

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on Wednesday revealed its annual indicator of the world’s vulnerability to catastrophe, stating the COVID-19 pandemic showed how ill-prepared the global community is to handle a substantial threat.

The world is closer to global catastrophe today than at any point since World War II, according to a group of international nuclear and climate scientists.  

The decision to ramp up uranium enrichment came less than a week after Iran acknowledged breaking the 661-pound limit on its low-enriched uranium stockpile.

Iran acknowledged Monday it had broken the limit set on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by the 2015 nuclear deal, marking its first major departure from the unraveling agreement a year after the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the accord.

The U.S. is sending 1,000 more troops to the Middle East as tensions in the Persian Gulf mounted over Iran’s announcement it will not comply with the international agreement that keeps it from making nuclear weapons. 

Iran threatened Wednesday to resume higher enrichment of uranium in 60 days if world powers fail to negotiate new terms for its 2015 nuclear deal a year after President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord.

Russia’s announcement that it plans to build two new land-based missile launch systems follows the U.S. decision to withdraw from a decades-old nuclear treaty. 

The clock hands didn’t move this year, but that’s no “sign of stability,” says Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Instead, she calls it a “stark warning.”

After a whirlwind summit, President Donald Trump declares he trusts the North Korean dictator and cancels joint military exercises with South Korea.

President Donald Trump called it “a horrible one-sided deal.” How pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal could impact talks with North Korea.

President Donald Trump says he’s hopeful that talks with North Korea’s leader will end that nation’s nuclear weapons program, but that “if it’s not a success, I will respectfully leave.”