Editing Nuclear blackmail (section)

==History==
In 1953, during the final phase of active hostilities in the [[Korean War]] and the early period of the [[Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower administration]], U.S. Secretary of State [[John Foster Dulles]] conveyed messages of nuclear blackmail through indirect channels to the Communists—including the North Koreans, Chinese, and Soviets—warning to put the conflict to an end by using atomic bombs if no progress was made toward a negotiated settlement.<ref name=fried>{{cite journal|last=Friedman|first=Edward|date=January 1975|title=Nuclear Blackmail and the end of the Korean War|journal=Modern China|volume=1|issue=1|pages=75–91|doi=10.1177/009770047500100103|s2cid=143664791}}</ref> Nuclear blackmail may have complicated rather than facilitated an armistice, because the Chinese refused to appease the Americans with their threats and the [[United Nations]] members such as the British did not support a full-scale escalation.<ref name=fried/>

In January 1955, the Chinese government made the decision to develop the nuclear bomb as a result of the unpredictabilities brought by the nuclear blackmail levied by foreign powers, particularly the United States.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=John Wilson |last2=Xue |first2=Litai |title=China Builds the Bomb |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=Stanford, California |date=1988 |isbn=9780804714525 |pages=11–13}}</ref> On October 16, 1964, when [[Project 596|China became a nuclear power]], the Chinese government stated that "The Chinese Government fully understands the good intentions of peace-loving countries and peoples in demanding an end to all nuclear tests. But more and more countries are coming to realize that the more exclusive the monopoly of nuclear weapons held by the U.S. imperialists and their partners, the greater the danger of a nuclear war. They are very arrogant when they have those weapons while you haven't. But when those who oppose them also have such weapons, they will not be so haughty, their policy of nuclear blackmail and nuclear threats will not be so effective, and the possibility of complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons will increase. We sincerely hope that a nuclear war will never break out. We are deeply convinced that, so long as all peace-loving countries and peoples make joint efforts and persist in the struggle, nuclear war can be prevented."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lewis |first1=John Wilson |last2=Xue |first2=Litai |title=China Builds the Bomb |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=Stanford, California |date=1988 |isbn=9780804714525 |pages=1 & 241–243}}</ref>

In 1981, the [[US Department of Energy]] security director Martin Dowd said there had been 75 cases in the last five years of nuclear blackmail by people threatening to release radioactive material on the public, in which almost all of the cases were threats by "cranks and weirdos" but several blackmail attempts were serious.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kNxFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6150,1894370|title=75 Nuke Extortion Cases|agency=[[UPI]]|work=[[The Telegraph-Herald]]|date=June 15, 1981|access-date=November 8, 2013}}</ref>

On February 24, 2022, in the TV address where [[Vladimir Putin]] announced [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russia's invasion of Ukraine]], Putin warned that any countries interfering would face consequences they had never encountered in their history. This was widely interpreted [[Nuclear risk during the Russian invasion of Ukraine#Russian nuclear blackmail|as being a threat of nuclear attack]]. Several days later, Putin put Russia's nuclear forces on a higher state of alert.<ref>{{cite news|title=France says Putin needs to understand NATO has nuclear weapons|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-says-putin-needs-understand-nato-has-nuclear-weapons-2022-02-24/|work=Reuters|date=February 24, 2022 |access-date=April 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Putin publicly put Russian nuclear forces on high alert. What should we make of that?|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/03/29/1089533705/putin-publicly-put-russian-nuclear-forces-on-high-alert-what-should-we-make-of-t?t=1650272475117|website=NPR|access-date=April 18, 2022}}</ref> United States warned Russia of "catastrophic" consequences for Russia if Russia uses any nuclear weapons after setbacks in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.<ref name="a039">{{cite web | title=Russia faces 'catastrophic' consequences if it uses nuclear weapons, U.S. warns | website=NBC News | date=September 26, 2022 | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-catastrophic-consequences-nuclear-weapons-ukraine-us-warns-rcna49365 | access-date=July 27, 2024}}</ref>

On September 25, 2024, Putin warned [[Western world|the West]] that if attacked with conventional weapons Russia would consider a nuclear retaliation. Putin went on to threaten nuclear powers that if they supported another country's attack on Russia, then they would be considered participants in such an aggression. This was described by the office of Ukrinian President [[Vladimir Zelensky]] as nuclear blackmail.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Vladimir Putin warns west he will consider using nuclear weapons |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/25/vladimir-putin-warns-west-nuclear-weapons |work=The Guardian |first= Pjotr |last= Sauer |date= September 25, 2024 |access-date=September 26, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Schmemann |first=Serge |date=November 4, 1993 |title=Russia Drops Pledge of No First Use of Atom Arms|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/04/world/russia-drops-pledge-of-no-first-use-of-atom-arms.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=October 31, 2024}}</ref>

Following the [[2025 India–Pakistan conflict]], Indian Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]] stated that Pakistan had been engaging in nuclear blackmail, which India would no longer tolerate, adding that the country would not be intimidated by nuclear threats. <ref>{{cite news |title=No more nuclear blackmail, will strike roots of terrorism |url=https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/no-more-nuclear-blackmail-will-strike-roots-of-terrorism-pm-modi20250512210736/|work=ANI |date=May 12, 2025 |access-date=May 15, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Biswas |first=Soutik |date=May 15, 2025 |title=India-Pakistan conflict: How real is the risk of nuclear war? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2e373yzndro |work=BBC News |access-date=May 15, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Sinha |first=Akash |date=May 15, 2025 |title=No more nuclear blackmail; will strike roots of terrorism: PM Modi on Pakistan's nuke rhetoric |url=https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/India/no-more-nuclear-blackmail-will-strike-roots-of-terrorism-pm-modi-on-pakistans-nuke-rhetoric/ar-AA1ED2Je |work=MSN |access-date=May 15, 2025}}</ref>