In the newest batch of leaked Democratic Party emails released on DCLeaks.com, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell asserts that Israel is in possession of around 200 nuclear weapons. Powell, in a contact exchange with US Democratic party donor and business partner Jeffrey Leeds, revealed Israel’s massive arsenal while discussing a speech by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. regarding the latter’s opinion of the dangers of the Iran nuclear deal.
In the email, Powell asserts that Iran would not use an atomic bomb even if they could obtain one, because “the boys in Tehran know Israel has 200, all targeted on Tehran, and we have thousands.”
“We’ll blow up the only thing they care about—regime survival. Where, how would they even test one?” Powell wrote.
Israel hasn’t publicly confirmed they’ve nuclear weapons, although it is an open secret that the nation is well-armed.
In 2014, the Federation of American Scientists estimated the nation had between 80 and 400 nuclear weapons, but reported that the quantity might be closer to 80 than 400. Powell’s figure in the e-mail, sent in March 2015, more than doubles their figure, the Times of Israel notes. “I don’t trust Iranians — almost went to jail over Iran-Contra,” Powell also asserted in the emails. Powell also doubted estimates on the length of time it’d take for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.
“They [the Iranians] say, correctly, that they have every right to enrich [uranium] for energy. Russians helped build a power reactor at Busher. Can’t get enough sanctions to break them. Lots of bs around about their progress. Bibi likes to say ‘a year away,’ as do our intel guys. They say it every year. [It] ain’t that easy to do,” Powell stated.
In the emails, Powell also referred to Donald Trump as a “national disgrace and an international pariah,” called Hillary Clinton “greedy, not transformational,” and asserted that Bill Clinton is “still dicking bimbos.”