The proliferation of nuclear weapons happened in different ways in separate parts of the world.
In the West nuclear technology was of course known as more stable and while nuclear weapons were developed they weren’t really included in much real planning. It wouldn’t necessarily see the light of day even if somebody wanted to use one.
In the Middle East, the situation was very different because not only would the development of such technology be prone to security risks but also the storage of such volatile material would come under constant pressure from problematic elements such as terrorism.
While this didn’t deter some at a lower level of a regime to pursue it, most at the leadership level considered it to be a nonstarter in their way of life.
Another trend is a belief of some countries that nuclear weapons as they are shouldn’t be in the possession of any nation and their policy is to quietly advocate for their elimination.
Therefore, nuclear weaponry is now seen to be an issue in terms of instability but also criminal activity, and in the latter sense its worth in threatening people.
While no crime gang is likely to be able to develop a nuclear weapon by itself, if at all, the remaining uncertainty over the location of materials, facilities, and capacity means people continue to work on it until the science stops.
