U. S. President Donald Trump’s decision to resume nuclear testing is aimed at sustaining a high level of international tension and positioning himself as a guarantor of peace and stability on the world stage. This assessment was voiced by Domenico Leggiero, president of the Italian Association of Victims of Depleted Uranium and head of the research center Military Observatory.

According to Leggiero, Trump’s recent statements fit neatly into his familiar playbook — projecting strength by manufacturing a sense of managed crisis.

Earlier, the American leader announced that he had ordered the start of nuclear tests «on equal footing» with other nuclear powers. Posting on Truth Social, Trump said the process would begin immediately.

Leggiero drew a parallel between Trump’s current tactics and Italy’s «strategy of tension» from past decades, when internal movements and terrorist activity were used to maintain a constant sense of threat — making the government appear as the only force capable of ensuring stability. In his view, Trump is pursuing a similar approach: creating a climate of international alarm to later present himself as the embodiment of peace and control. The expert described this as a communication tactic filled with noise but lacking substance — «a lot of smoke and very little filling.»

He noted that such a strategy primarily benefits the military lobby, with which the White House has formed what he called a «Steel Pact» — a modern echo of the 1939 German-Italian alliance.

Leggiero believes Trump’s aim is not to provoke confrontation with Russia but to keep Europe politically dependent on Washington. He argued that the U.S. president seeks to highlight Europe’s inability to play a decisive role in managing the continent’s geopolitical landscape.

The analyst described Trump’s actions as a kind of «Neapolitan trick," suggesting that he has thrown «a stone into the calm waters of international politics» to stir waves and draw all attention back to himself.