Israel Has Between 80 And 200 Nuclear Warheads: Experts

Israel is determined to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, citing its archenemy’s alleged covert efforts to build an atomic weapon as a direct existential threat.

Israel’s nuclear journey began in 1958, when it opened the Negev Nuclear Research Center in the desert town of Dimona. I Photo: Wikimedia Commons

What is less ambiguous, however, is the long-standing belief among experts that Israel is the Middle East’s sole nuclear-armed state—even as Israeli leaders have consistently refused to confirm or deny the existence of such weapons, Gulf News reported.

Israel’s policy of nuclear ambiguity has, experts say, served to enhance its deterrent posture against Iran and other regional adversaries, without provoking a regional arms race or inviting preemptive strikes.

Israel is one of only five countries not party to the global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), exempting it from international disarmament obligations and inspections.

Critics, particularly in Iran, accuse Western powers of hypocrisy—strictly monitoring Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran claims is for peaceful purposes, while tacitly accepting Israel’s suspected nuclear arsenal.

According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Israel has stockpiled approximately 1,110 kilograms of plutonium—enough to produce up to 277 nuclear weapons.

The organization also reports that Israel possesses six submarines capable of launching nuclear cruise missiles, as well as ballistic missiles with a range of up to 6,500 kilometers (4,000 miles).

Israel’s nuclear journey began in 1958, when it opened the Negev Nuclear Research Center in the desert town of Dimona, under the leadership of founding Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.

The facility was kept secret for a decade, during which Israeli officials falsely described it to U.S. authorities as a textile plant. A 2022 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists article confirmed these early deceptions.

The first public revelation of Dimona’s true purpose came in 1986, when former technician Mordechai Vanunu provided photos and details of the reactor to The Sunday Times of London.

He was later convicted of treason and served 18 years in prison. To this day, Vanunu is prohibited from leaving Israel or meeting with foreigners. Estimates place Israel’s current nuclear arsenal between 80 and 200 warheads.