Does Iran have nuclear weapons and what is its military capability?
17 June 2025, 16:26 | Updated: 18 June 2025, 08:15
Donald Trump has declared he wants a “real end” to Iran’s nuclear threat and that any potential programme would be “wiped out before long”.
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The US president was bullish in his assertion on Tuesday that he wants something “better than a ceasefire” following Tehran and Israel trading missile strikes.
“I didn't say I was looking for a ceasefire,” Mr Trump said from Air Force One having left the G7 summit early to focus on managing the situation in the Middle East.
The president instead said he wants a “real end” with Iran to give up “entirely” its ambitions to have nuclear weapons.
Fears are now present that Israel and Iran have descended into open warfare with hundreds dead since the two sides started trading missile strikes on Friday.
The US has been closely monitoring the situation and has mobilised its aircraft carrier the USS Nimitz. The UK has, in turn, warned against all travel to Israel.
Mr Trump has criticised Iran for refusing to agree to a nuclear deal with his administration and it follows a decade-long rift between the two countries over the weapons.
Here is what we know so far.
Does Iran have nuclear weapons?
No. Or at least not yet. The countries that have them are believed to be: The United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel.
Iran worried the international community by enriching uranium in the 2010s. A deal struck with Barack Obama’s administration in 2015 saw Iran agree to not build nuclear weapons in exchange for monetary, oil, and other sanctions being lifted.
But this came to an end in Mr Trump’s first administration when he reimposed sanctions and Iran began enriching uranium once more. The then 45th president was worried that Iran was using its extra money to fund terrorism as part of his reason for pulling out of the deal. Joe Biden had tried to follow through on his election pledge to reinstate the Obama-backed deal but was ultimately unable to.
Since Mr Trump has returned to the White House, Iran has increased its stockpile of uranium to its highest ever levels and the country seems closer than ever to having nuclear weapons of its own. The amount of uranium gathered is beyond what could be needed for civilian use and has alarmed the current president. Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday: "AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"
Iran possessing nuclear weapons could destabilise the region further and lead countries to either form alliances with Tehran or build nuclear warheads of their own.
What non-nuclear weapons does Iran now possess?
Iran has one of the largest military capabilities in the region and is comparable to Turkey, Israel and Saudi Arabia in its offering.
The country is known to have an extensive ballistic missile system, a state of the art drone system, and a top missile defence system. Iran might be more capable of defensive missile strikes than offensive ground operations, however, due to limitations of its troops.
Where are Britain’s bases in the region?
British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out defending Israel from Iranian strikes and has said that jets and military assets could be moved to defend the country.
“I will always make the right decisions for the UK,” he said. “We are moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support in the region.”
Tehran has said that British, US and French bases in the Middle East could be targeted in retaliation if weapons are given to Israel. It is understood that this has not happened with Sir Keir having called for a de-escalation of tensions.
The UK has a military base in the United Arab Emirates and has a permanent presence in Oman as well as Bahrain. There is also a naval base and RAF base in Cyprus.
![Sir Keir Starmer has called on Vladimir Putin to "stop dragging his heels and get to the [negotiating] table", as Trump calls the Russian president "misguided."](https://images.lbc.co.uk/images/734580?width=320&crop=16_9&format=webp&signature=hCtUT-QBb1QuxMxVTF6Ch2nl6Ow=)
