Russia\u2019s foreign ministry says Israel appeared to have admitted that it has nuclear weapons and is willing to use them
\nGaza
\nRussian officials have joined other countries in expressing concern over the remarks of an Israeli junior minister who appeared to express openness to the idea of Israel carrying out a nuclear strike on Gaza, saying that it raises a \u201chuge number of questions\u201d.
\nMoscow\u2019s reaction came on Tuesday, days after Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu, said during a radio interview, that the nuclear option would be \u201cone way\u201d to deal with Gaza, implying that, not only is Israel in possession of nuclear weapons \u2013 something the country has never admitted \u2013 but that it is also willing to use them.
\nIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday suspended the minister from a far-right party in the coalition government and from cabinet meetings \u201cuntil further notice\u201d.
\nMaria Zakharova, Russia\u2019s foreign ministry spokeswoman, said that the main issue was that Israel appeared to have admitted that it had nuclear weapons.
\n\u201cQuestion number one \u2013 it turns out that we are hearing official statements about the presence of nuclear weapons?\u201d Zakharova was quoted as saying by state RIA news agency.
\nIf so, she said, then where are the International Atomic Energy Agency and international nuclear inspectors?
\nThe Federation of American Scientists estimates Israel has about 90 nuclear warheads.
\nOn Monday, the United States condemned Eliyahu\u2019s comments as \u201cwholly unacceptable\u201d.
\n\u201cWe continue to believe that it is important for all sides of this conflict to refrain from hateful rhetoric,\u201d deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told a briefing.
\nThe remarks also drew condemnation from around the Arab world and Iran called for a swift international response.
\n\u201cThe UN Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency must take immediate and uninterrupted action to disarm this barbaric and apartheid regime,\u201d Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on social media on Monday. \u201cTomorrow is late,\u201d he posted on X.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russia\u2019s foreign ministry says Israel appeared to have admitted that it has nuclear weapons and is willing to use them Gaza Russian officials have joined other countries in expressing concern over the remarks of an Israeli junior minister who appeared to express openness to the idea of Israel carrying out a nuclear strike on Gaza, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366769,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-366735","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n