What are Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities?

Many foreign policy experts warn that if Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons, it would be broadly destabilizing for the Middle East and nearby regions.

A first-order concern is that Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons would pose a major, perhaps existential threat to Israel — a worry that drove Israel to launch a full-scale attack on Iran’s nuclear and military facilities in June 2025. Other foreign policy experts say Iran would be assuring its own demise if it were to launch a nuclear strike on Israel, a close U.S. defense partner and possessor of its own nuclear weapons arsenal, which is undeclared. Either way, there would be a dangerous potential for miscalculation that could result in a nuclear exchange, analysts say.

An added concern is that Iran’s possession of a nuclear weapon could spur other regional rivals, including Saudi Arabia, to pursue their own program.

Read more at Council on Foreign Relations