US spending on nuclear weapons rose by 22% in 2025 compared with the previous year, according to a report published by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

Washington spent $69.2 billion on its nuclear arsenal during the year, a figure that exceeded the combined nuclear weapons expenditures of all other nuclear-armed states.

The world’s nine nuclear powers — the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea — increased total spending on their arsenals by 19%, reaching a record $119 billion.

China ranked second in spending with $13.5 billion. The United Kingdom spent $12.6 billion, overtaking Russia to become the third-largest spender. France’s nuclear weapons expenditure reached $7.7 billion.

According to data cited in the ICAN report, nuclear-armed states have spent a combined $471 billion on their arsenals over the past five years.

The report emphasized that the amount spent on nuclear weapons in a single day during 2025 would have been sufficient to provide food for 2 million people for a year, while total annual spending could fund the United Nations’ regular budget for 32 years.

Before those developments, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Andrey Belousov commented on the issue.

Belousov said Russia continues to insist on the withdrawal of US nuclear weapons from Europe and the dismantling of all infrastructure established in the region to support their deployment.

Under its nuclear-sharing programme, the United States has stationed nuclear weapons in NATO countries across Europe since the 1950s.

Today, US-made B61 nuclear bombs are stored at military bases in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Türkiye.

Although NATO does not possess its own nuclear weapons, operational control over those weapons remains with Washington.

Earlier, the Financial Times reported that the United States was considering expanding its nuclear presence in Europe beyond the countries currently participating in the nuclear-sharing programme.

According to the newspaper, Poland and the Baltic states had expressed interest in hosting US nuclear weapons.

Sources cited by the Financial Times linked those discussions to concerns among European allies that the United States could reduce its military presence in the region.

The obstacles imposed by the United States government on African and Middle Eastern referees and football players designated to work at the World Cup are drawing widespread scrutiny.

In the latest development, a World Cup referee from Somalia was denied entry into the United States. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stated on Monday that Omar Artan was turned away over the weekend upon landing in Miami on a flight from Istanbul.

CBP did not disclose the specific reason the referee was barred from entry, but Somalia is among approximately 40 countries subjected to enhanced screening or travel restrictions under policies enacted by President Donald Trump.

“Following inspection, it was determined that the passenger, a FIFA World Cup referee, was inadmissible due to security screening, and admission to the United States was denied,” CBP said.

FIFA confirmed it was aware of the US decision to block Artan’s entry and indicated that his status would not change for the time being.

“As has been the case with previous FIFA events, the host government ultimately decides who receives a visa and who is admitted into the country,” the governing body said in a statement.

While this is the first known instance of a World Cup referee being barred from entry by US immigration authorities, several players, coaching staff, and numerous fans have previously encountered difficulties entering the country.

The US State Department said it is working in coordination with the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and FIFA to support visa processing for World Cup participants, but emphasized that it must simultaneously enforce US laws and administration policies.

“The administration will never compromise on applying US law and the highest standards of national security and public safety in the administration of the visa process,” the State Department said in a statement.

Artan, a former football player who transitioned to refereeing due to injuries, was set to become the first individual from his country to officiate at a World Cup.

In an interview with Al Jazeera prior to the tournament, Artan spoke about the challenges he faced in his home country. “You cannot give up. If you want to reach a place like the World Cup, you have to fight,” he said.

Somalia is one of 12 nations whose citizens were effectively banned from entering the US by Trump in December 2025, with the administration citing terrorism risks.

Trump has repeatedly demonstrated open hostility toward the East African nation, previously describing the country as “smelly” and labeling individuals originating from there as “garbage.”

The administration has also revoked temporary visas for thousands of Somali citizens residing in the US and accused members of the Somali diaspora in Minnesota of fraud.

Beyond entry denials, the treatment of participating teams has sparked significant backlash. Members of the Senegal national team were subjected to exhaustive baggage searches directly on the airport tarmac in San Antonio.

Separately, players from the Uzbekistan national team reportedly faced drug-detection dogs and metal-detector sweeps upon arriving at their training facilities in New York.

Footage and photographs of these security checks rapidly circulated on social media, triggering anger among football fans.

Many observers accused American authorities of treating international footballers “like criminals” rather than guests attending one of the world’s premier sporting events.

The controversy intensified further following reports that Iraqi forward Aymen Hussein was detained for seven hours at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Additionally, the photographer for the Iraqi national team was reportedly denied entry into the country after undergoing a security screening that lasted approximately 10 hours.

The US Department of Defense has elevated the threat level associated with espionage by Israeli intelligence services to its highest tier, amid escalating tensions between Washington and West Jerusalem over potential actions against Iran.

The Pentagon is deeply concerned about an increase in Israeli intelligence operations targeting the US, NBC News reported, citing sources within the Department of Defense.

According to these sources, the Defense Intelligence Agency issued a new threat assessment document after Israel intensified its espionage activities. These operations reportedly aimed to monitor decisions regarding the conflict in the Middle East, as well as internal deliberations within US President Donald Trump’s team.

The document raises Israel’s espionage threat category to the “critical” level.

An official at the Israeli Embassy in Washington told NBC News that the allegations of surveillance targeting the US are entirely false. The official stated that Israel’s intelligence activities focus solely on its enemies, not its allies, and asserted that any claims to the contrary are disinformation or politically motivated.

The Pentagon declined to comment on the developments, while a White House official declared that reports of Israeli surveillance operations are baseless.

In addition to the intelligence dispute, a new debate has emerged regarding the military aid relationship between the two nations. According to a report by The Washington Post, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his support for a draft resolution introduced by Republican Representative Marlin Stutzman, which proposes altering the format of US military assistance to Israel.

The resolution proposes ending the $3.8 billion in direct annual military aid that the US provides to Israel, requiring Israel to pay the full cost of the US weaponry it purchases.

The current memorandum of understanding on military assistance between the US and Israel, which totals $38 billion, is scheduled to expire in 2028.

While the new resolution submitted to Congress is not legally binding, it reflects the growing debate in Washington over the future of the assistance, amid the war in Gaza and declining public approval ratings for Israel in the US.

The Washington Post reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu issued a statement expressing his desire for Israel to stand on its own feet, noting that the country aims to transition from the status of an aid recipient to that of a partner.

Supporters of the draft resolution argue that the move would transition the US-Israel relationship from a direct aid model to a trade-focused structure, facilitating closer military-technological cooperation.