Trump energy secretary says no nuclear explosions for now

After the president called to resume nuclear testing "," the official said the administration plans system tests.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that the Trump administration doesn't plan to conduct nuclear explosions right now, after the president ordered nuclear weapons testing last week.

"I think we're talking about system tests at the moment," Wright told Fox News's "The Sunday Briefing." "These are not nuclear explosions. We call these noncritical explosions. So you're testing all the other parts of a nuclear weapon."

Last week, President Donald Trump announced he had told the Pentagon to start nuclear testing again "right away" and "on the same level" as Russia and China. This change marks a shift from decades of U.S. nuclear strategy that might affect relationships with U.S. rivals.

Trump said he had instructed the Defense Department to begin nuclear tests again. However, the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration designs and oversees the country's nuclear weapons stockpile.

The NNSA runs the Nevada Test Site, a reserve 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. At this location, the United States carried out its last nuclear test explosion deep under Rainier Mesa in September 1992. Following this, President George H.W. Bush put a stop to such tests when the Cold War ended.

Trump's declaration sparked worry and bewilderment among experts who claimed that physical testing is out of date and would speed up an arms race it tries to stop. The statement followed Russia's claim of successful tests on a nuclear-powered cruise missile, the Burevestnik, and a large torpedo, the Poseidon, which are weapons systems capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Russian President Vladimir Putin though, has held back from setting off a nuclear explosion.

Trump didn't give many specifics in his announcement, which he shared on Truth Social. Trump wrote that the process would start right away and was a response to other countries' testing programs.

In a "60 Minutes" interview recorded on Friday, before Wright spoke to Fox News, Trump insisted the U.S. needs to test nuclear weapons.

When CBS's Norah O'Donnell pointed out that Russia had tested systems but not warheads, Trump said, "Of course they have."

He then added: "If we have them, we should test them, or else we won't know if they'll work ."

Trump's stance builds on a popular argument within the administration that testing is needed to fight the growing spread of nuclear weapons from countries like Russia, China and North Korea, which have all updated their systems in recent years.

The government's upcoming tests, as Wright pointed out, aim to improve replacement nuclear weapons.

"[The president has] been worried about the US staying the world's top military power. That's the only way we can make sure there's peace abroad and prosperity at home," Wright said on Fox News. "So when he hears announcements and sees what's happening in the world, I think he wants to tell everyone: America … will do what it must."

Wright told Americans living near past nuclear test sites, like the Nevada desert, not to worry about possible blasts in their areas.

"No need to worry about that," he said.

Adam Taylor, Natalie Allison, Cat Zakrzewski and Katrina Northrop helped create this report.