Does Israel really have 200 nuclear weapons, or was Colin Powell exaggerating? | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

23.5.18

Does Israel really have 200 nuclear weapons, or was Colin Powell exaggerating? | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: By Dawn Stover

In an email message written in March 2015 to Democratic Party donor Jeffrey Leeds, former US Secretary of State and four-star general Colin Powell reportedly had this to say about the prospects for a nuclear deal with Iran: “The boys in Tehran know Israel has 200 [nuclear weapons], all targeted on Tehran, and we have thousands.” For that reason, Powell wrote, the Iranians couldn’t use a nuclear weapon even if they finally made one.

The email was apparently leaked by Russian hackers, and released by the American hacktivist group DCLeaks. Powell has confirmed that he wrote other hacked emails attributed to him, including one in which he called presidential candidate Donald Trump “a national disgrace,” so it’s probably safe to assume that the message about Israel’s nuclear arsenal is also authentic.