Powell says Israel has 200 nukes pointed at Iran in leaked 2015 email

In a private email exchange last year leaked this week by hackers, former Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed Israel’s nuclear weapons capability with a friend, saying the country has 200 warheads. Though Israel is widely believed to have developed nukes decades ago, it has never declared itself to be a nuclear state.

The existence of its weapons program is considered classified information by both the Israeli and U.S. governments. Powell, a retired Army general who has served as White House national security adviser and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Associated Press on Friday through a spokeswoman he was referring to public estimates of Israel’s nukes. READ MORE