Do Israel, Iran and Hamas have nuclear weapons?

Do Israel, Iran, and Hamas have nuclear weapons? This is a very topical question given the outbreak of a new war in the Holy Land - which could be long according to the declarations of the belligerents - following the attack by Palestinian militiamen on the Jewish State.

A sudden war, which adds to the one that has been going on for over a year and a half in Ukraine where the specter of atomic weapons is sadly real given that Russia is the largest nuclear power in the world.

The fear of the last few hours is that the Israel-Hamas war could expand and inflame the always turbulent Middle East, where bloody conflicts have been ongoing for years in Syria and Yemen.

All eyes at this moment are also turned towards Iran, accused of being the mastermind behind the unprecedented attack by Hamas and of having armed the Palestinian "brothers" who, on the first day of their operation Al-Aqsa Flood, launched something like 3,000 rockets towards the Jewish State in a few hours.

In this very complex and worrying scenario, let’s see if the main actors involved - Israel, Iran, and Hamas - are in possession of atomic weapons that could generate an apocalyptic nuclear war.

Israel and nuclear weapons

Whether or not Israel possesses nuclear weapons has always been something of a mystery; in fact, the various governments have never confirmed - nor denied - the stock of atomic bombs in the arsenals.

In April 2023, however, the former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak somehow broke this sort of ambiguity that has been going on for years, essentially confirming Israel’s possession of nuclear weapons.

“It sounds strange to us - Barak tweeted, commenting on the protests against the recent judicial reform wanted by the government - but in the conversations between Israelis and Western diplomats, deep concerns emerge about the possibility that, if the coup in Israel were to succeed, a messianic dictatorship is established in the heart of the Middle East, which has nuclear weapons, and fanatically desires a confrontation with Islam centered on the Temple Mount. In their eyes, it’s really scary. Not gonna happen".

Israel has never joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty, therefore the total number of nuclear weapons in their possession is not clear. According to an estimate made in 2023 by the Federation of American Scientists, they have 90 warheads available at the moment.

A detailed article in the Italian outlet Il Manifesto, however, spoke of "an arsenal estimated at 100-400 nuclear weapons, including mini-nukes and new generation neutron bombs, and produces plutonium and tritium in quantities sufficient to build hundreds more”. The Israeli nuclear warheads would also be "ready for launch on ballistic missiles, such as the Jericho 3, and on F-15 and F-16 fighter-bombers supplied by the US, to which the F-35s are now added".

Do Iran and Hamas have nuclear weapons?

The same article of Il Manifesto wrote that Iran "as confirmed by the numerous IAEA inspections, does not have nuclear weapons and undertakes not to produce them by subjecting itself to an agreement under strict international control”.

In May 2018, however, the United States, at the time led by Donald Trump, withdrew from the nuclear agreement signed in 2015 and Iran has since resumed its uranium enrichment program.

Here is what Euronews wrote at the beginning of 2023 regarding a confidential IAEA report: “Total stocks as of 19 August amounted to 3,795.5 kg, down 949 kg compared to May. Reserves would have decreased because the enriched uranium would have been partially diluted. A total that still exceeds 18 times the limit authorized by the 2015 international agreement, which places limits on Tehran’s atomic production in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions”.

In its report the IAEA deplored "the lack of cooperation from Iran", but at the moment we do not know whether Tehran has nuclear weapons at its disposal even if its program has regained momentum after the events of 2018.

However, we can state with certainty that Hamas does not possess nuclear weapons - the Palestinian militiamen do not have similar technologies at their disposal -, with the West marveling at the ability to fire 3,000 rockets. This quick and immediate action was so baffling that American intelligence immediately suspected Iranian involvement.

Original article published on Money.it Italy 2023-10-10 14:50:03. Original title: Israele, Iran e Hamas hanno armi nucleari?