Map shows all countries in the world with nuclear weapons as Iran attack 'minutes away'

This concerning map has emerged illustrating the worldwide spread of nuclear weapons, as fears grow around potential international conflict. The Federation of American Scientists states that there are an estimated 3,880 active and 12,119 total nuclear warheads worldwide as of 2024.

The data reveals that eight countries possess destructive nuclear weapons ready for deployment – the United States, Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, and North Korea.

Interestingly, the latter three, Pakistan, India, and North Korea, have opted not to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), a UN Treaty advocating for nuclear disarmament and banning the acquisition of further nuclear weapons.

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A map showing the nations that possess nuclear weapons

Israel is another country suspected of possessing nuclear weapons, thought to be between 75 and 400 warheads. While maintaining a stance of ambiguity around these allegations, the state also declines to sign up for the NPT due to national security concerns.

Concerns are mounting that Iran may soon join this club of nuclear-armed nations as they inch closer to developing their own weapons of mass destruction. These worries were ignited during a recent House of Lords debate suggesting that Iran was just “minutes away” from the production of nuclear warheads, reports the Express.

There are reports that Israel could strike Iran’s nuclear facilities as a counteraction to the hail of drones and rockets fired over the weekend. Discussing the Iranian counter-strike, independent crossbench peer Baroness Deech said: “We seem to have forgotten about the nuclear plan, the JCPOA, we’ve taken our eye off that. Iran is within minutes of getting nuclear capability and mad enough to use it.”

Former Tory Cabinet minister Lord Forsyth also voiced his concern stating that if he were in Israel, he would “be worried that this evil regime (Iran) is developing a nuclear capability”. Nuclear weapons have been deployed only twice in warfare – both times by the US, on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and then on Nagasaki three days afterward.

The increasing Russia-Ukraine conflict has aroused nuclear war anxieties, with Vladimir Putin publicly proclaiming that Russia’s nuclear forces are on “high alert”. China’s plans to potentially double its nuclear warheads from 350 to 700 by 2027 have also heightened these worries.

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