Hacked Correspondence from Powell: Israel Has 200 Nuclear Missiles Targeting Iran

The recent revelations by the hacking group 'DC Leak' include emails from Colin Powell, the former U.S. Secretary of State, regarding 'Israel's nuclear missiles targeting Iran.' According to Israeli newspaper Maariv, the hackers released these communications in recent days. General Colin Powell served as Secretary of State during George W. Bush's second term. In his correspondence, Powell emphasized Israel's nuclear capability as a fact, even years after his term ended, while Israel has deliberately kept its nuclear capabilities ambiguous for decades. Maariv reported that Powell's emails reflect the views of several senior American officials who do not accept the deliberate ambiguity policy regarding Israel's capabilities as 'part of Israeli strategy.' In an email to Jeffrey Leeds, a recent business partner, Powell dismissed the Israeli Prime Minister's assessment from the previous year, which claimed Iran was only a year away from being able to mount a nuclear bomb, calling it 'exaggerated.' Powell noted that during Netanyahu's speech in Congress, which deeply displeased the Obama administration, he remarked that 'a lot of nonsense' was heard regarding 'Iran's nuclear program advancements.' He added, 'Bibi (Netanyahu's nickname) likes to say there is one year left - but he and others repeat this every year. It is very hard to have the courage to say every year that there is one more year left...' Powell wrote that 'the Tehranis know that Israel has targeted 200 (nuclear) missiles at Tehran, and we have a thousand (nuclear missiles).' He reminded that he had openly stated, 'We threaten only what matters to them (the rulers of Tehran), which is the existence of their regime; then we will see if they dare to launch even one missile.' Powell also recalled Ahmadinejad's past statement: 'What do we want a (nuclear) missile for? To show off?' According to Maariv, Powell added in his correspondence, 'Israel is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; it continues its policy of deliberate ambiguity; it conceals the number of its nuclear warheads and does not disclose their size, and even the essence of its nuclear capability is deliberately kept ambiguous.' Furthermore, Powell stated, 'Iran has the right to have a uranium enrichment program... The Iranians rightly say that enriching uranium for peaceful purposes is their right'... but 'sanctions alone are not enough to break Iran...' Despite being Secretary of State in a Republican administration, Powell supported the JCPOA, the final nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers reached over a year ago. In a leaked email, Powell wrote, 'The agreement with Iran is good for our country and for our allies; however, retired generals always jump in and say something else; I have studied the issues deeply; I say we must fight ISIS; there are those who say we are not serious and decisive in the fight against ISIS; they are talking nonsense; some of these critics are looking to regain power, but I do not want that...' According to the New York Times, speculation in some American circles suggests that the hackers from 'DC Leak' are supported by Russia. In other leaked emails from the 79-year-old Powell, he referred to current Republican candidate Donald Trump as 'a national disgrace' and 'the world's pariah,' and also called Dick Cheney, Vice President during George Bush's presidency, 'stupid.' Based on the 'DC Leak' revelations, Powell simultaneously labeled current Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton as 'greedy' and 'voracious,' criticizing her for using insecure servers in her communications and calling her 'brazen' for accusing him of teaching her this method.