Britain helping 'Israel’s' nuclear force: Declassified UK
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SIPRI believes that "Israel" possesses at least 90 nuclear weapons, but the number might be as high as 300.
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Employees look up at the construction site of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset, England, on December 11, 2022. (AP)
UK businesses have supplied $11 million worth of equipment to "Israel's" submarines, which are thought to contain nuclear weapons, Declassified UK has found.
The UK government recently revealed a $9.16 million permit to sell "submarine technology" to "Israel," which is believed to involve nuclear-armed submarines. Since 2010, British ministers have granted 77 export licenses for submarine components to "Israel|, making it the fourth most common UK military export to the country, with two open permits allowing unlimited export quantities.
These licenses for Israeli submarines were exempt from the UK's limitations on military equipment shipments to "Israel," which were issued last September during the war on Gaza.
SIPRI believes that "Israel" possesses at least 90 nuclear weapons, but the number might be as high as 300.
While "Israel" continues to deny having nuclear weapons, SIPRI reports that it is "believed to be modernizing its nuclear arsenal and appears to be upgrading its plutonium production reactor site at Dimona" in the al-Naqab desert.
The Stockholm-based institution also highlights unsubstantiated rumors that "all or some of the submarines have been equipped to launch an indigenously produced nuclear-armed sea-launched variant of the Popeye cruise missile, giving Israel a sea-based nuclear strike capability".
Submarines may be refitted to carry nuclear missiles
"Israel’s" navy, based in Haifa, operates six German-built Dolphin-class submarines and has acquired three more Dakar-class submarines. Reports suggest these submarines have been refitted to carry nuclear-tipped missiles, with a range of 1,500 miles, capable of reaching Iran.
Israeli ministers may not view nuclear weapons as just a last resort to be deployed if the occupation faces the threat of destruction.
In the months after the war on Gaza was initiated, Israeli politicians and commentators, notably Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu, who was eventually removed from the cabinet, recommended that "Israel" deploy nuclear weapons in Gaza.
The UK government has persistently refused to acknowledge "Israel's" nuclear weapons, despite providing the occupation with 20 tons of heavy water, a critical component for plutonium manufacturing at "Israel's" top-secret Dimona nuclear facility in the 1950s.
Declassified previously uncovered that Foreign Office and Ministry of Defense workers believed "Israel" had produced nuclear weapons for more than 40 years.
Britain has also supported "Israel's" submarine development. Tel Aviv originally purchased two British S-class submarines in the late 1950s, which it utilized in the 1967–1980s wars in Lebanon.
In the 1970s, the Vickers shipyard in the UK built three "Gal-class" submarines for "Israel," while the UK's support for "Israel's" nuclear weapons development is ironic, given its role in sponsoring the 1995 UN resolution for a nuclear-free Middle East; UK government data remains unclear about which firms assist "Israel", and the recipient of a $9.1 million export license remains undisclosed.
According to official records, just five firms have been issued licenses in "Israel." These include Truflo Marine, Thompson Valves (both part of IMI plc), Honeywell Control Systems, Tenmat, and Hale Hamilton Valves.
