President Donald Trump says the United States should pursue a modernized nuclear arms reduction treaty following the lapse of New START, citing military strength, deterrence, and the need for updated global limits.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump on Thursday called for the development of a new and updated nuclear arms reduction treaty, arguing that the expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) presents an opportunity to pursue a more modern agreement aligned with current geopolitical realities.
In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump outlined what he described as a “peace-through-strength” approach to national defense, citing military modernization efforts during his first term and continued expansion during his second. He said those efforts included rebuilding and refurbishing nuclear weapons, establishing the U.S. Space Force, and expanding naval capabilities.
“The United States is the most powerful Country in the World,” Trump wrote. “I completely rebuilt its Military in my First Term, including new and many refurbished nuclear weapons. I also added Space Force and now, continue to rebuild our Military at levels never seen before.”
Trump said that rather than extending New START, which formally expired this week after entering into force in 2011, the administration should task nuclear experts with drafting a new agreement. He characterized New START as “a badly negotiated deal” and said it had been “grossly violated,” adding that a replacement treaty should be “new, improved, and modernized” and capable of lasting “long into the future.”
New START, formally known as the Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, placed binding limits on deployed strategic nuclear weapons. According to the U.S. State Department, the treaty capped each country at 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and heavy bombers, along with 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 800 total deployed and non-deployed launchers and bombers.
Both the United States and Russia met those limits by February 2018 and remained in compliance through the treaty’s duration. The agreement also included verification measures such as data exchanges and on-site inspections, though those mechanisms were disrupted in recent years.
Trump’s comments came amid renewed international focus on strategic stability following the treaty’s sunset. Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously proposed a temporary one-year extension to preserve existing limits. That offer was not taken up by Washington. In September, ZeroHedge reported that Moscow floated the proposal as the future of New START remained uncertain.
Trump reiterated claims that his leadership helped prevent broader nuclear confrontations, stating, “I have stopped Nuclear Wars from breaking out across the World between Pakistan and India, Iran and Israel, and Russia and Ukraine.”
The president has publicly discussed the U.S. nuclear arsenal on several occasions since returning to office. In October 2025, he announced plans for the United States to resume nuclear weapons testing, while continuing to argue that strength is a prerequisite for effective arms control and eventual denuclearization.
Geopolitical tensions surrounding nuclear doctrine intensified in late 2024, when Putin signed an updated Russian nuclear doctrine. The revised policy expanded the conditions under which Moscow could authorize nuclear use, including scenarios involving attacks by non-nuclear states using weapons supplied by nuclear powers.
On the same day the doctrine took effect, Ukraine launched long-range, conventionally armed missiles supplied by the United States and NATO into Russian territory. The missiles are capable of carrying nuclear payloads, though they were not nuclear-armed. The updated doctrine also allows Russia to consider nuclear use against allied states of an attacking country, a provision that applies broadly to NATO members providing military support to Ukraine.
As the world’s two largest nuclear powers move beyond New START for the first time in more than a decade, Trump framed the moment as an opening for renegotiation rather than escalation. He said a future agreement should reflect current military technologies, enforcement realities, and the broader goal of reducing the risk of nuclear conflict.
Rather than extending existing frameworks, Trump said, the United States should pursue a treaty designed for the present era—one that preserves deterrence while setting clearer, more durable limits on the world’s largest nuclear arsenals.
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