Does Israel possess nuclear bombs? Is it ready to use atom bomb against Iran or any other state? SIPRI Report 2025 says...

Does Israel have a nuclear bomb? Is it a nuclear state and if it is, how and when did it acquire nuclear capabilities? How many nuclear warheads does Tel Aviv possess and where have they been stored? Why did the Jewish nation not use the nuclear weapon in the war that threatened its existence? These questions have cropped up after the Benjamin Netanyahu government bombed the nuclear facilities of Iran, situated in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan. US President Donald Trump followed him by sending the B-2 stealth bomber to destroy these sites. 

SIPRI Yearbook 2025

Israel has been maintaining its oft-repeated claim that it possesses no nuclear weapons, as it has no nuclear capabilities. Really? According to the SIPRI Yearbook 2025, there are nine nuclear states at present: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Israel. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is a research institute and think tank that prepares an assessment of the state of armaments, disarmament and international security every year.

In its latest report published on June 16, 2025, the SIPRI said that these countries possessed 12,241 warheads in January 2025, and out of these, about 9614 were in military stockpiles for potential use. It also said that an estimated number of 3912 warheads were deployed with missiles and aircraft, while the rest were kept in central storage. Around 2,100 of the deployed warheads were kept in a state of high operational alert on ballistic missiles, meaning they could be used at any time.  

How many nuclear bombs does Israel possess?

Explaining the actual position of Israel, the SIPRI Yearbook, 2025, writes, "Israel, which does not publicly acknowledge possessing nuclear weapons, is also believed to be modernising its nuclear arsenal. In 2024, it conducted a test of a missile propulsion system that could be related to its Jericho family of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. Israel also appears to be upgrading its plutonium production reactor site at Dimona."

 According to the SIPRI, Tel Aviv has 90 nuclear warheads. They all come under the category of military stockpile, meaning they are all bombs ready for use. The Jewish nation officially says it has no nuclear capability and it has no intention of acquiring it.