World Leaders Blast Nuclear Powers, Condemn Israeli Strikes at UN Disarmament Plenary

Over 30 nations addressed the UN General Assembly's high-level plenary for the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, delivering a near-unanimous rebuke of nuclear-weapon states for failing to meet disarmament obligations. With the pivotal 2026 NPT Review Conference approaching, delegations warned that arsenal modernization, new geopolitical flashpoints, and the integration of artificial intelligence into nuclear command systems are pushing the world closer to catastrophe.

• Dozens of nations condemn nuclear-weapon states for failing Article VI NPT disarmament obligations, with over 12,000 warheads still in existence and roughly $100 billion spent on nuclear weapons in 2024 alone
• Multiple delegations denounce June 2025 Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities as violations of international law and the IAEA safeguards regime, with Cuba, Egypt, Turkey and others calling the attacks unprecedented
• Mexico proposes General Assembly urgently address AI risks in nuclear command-and-control systems, warning of an existential threat with no governing framework
• Marshall Islands president delivers harrowing testimony on 67 nuclear tests, secret human experiments, and multigenerational health devastation from Cold War-era detonations
• Belarus defends deploying Russian tactical nuclear weapons on its territory, marking a stark outlier as nearly every other speaker demanded disarmament
• Kyrgyzstan announces completion of internal procedures to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons