Professor Sultan Barakat of Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s Public Policy department has warned that Israel may be planning a limited strategic nuclear strike. In an interview with Al Jazeera, he said Israel could attempt such an attack to demonstrate itself as a nuclear power, interpreting recent language from both Israel and the United States as indicative of this possibility.

Barakat linked U.S. President Donald Trump’s use of phrases like “great surprise” and “civilization will be destroyed” to the potential for such an operation. He noted that although Israel has never officially acknowledged possessing nuclear weapons, it is widely believed to have nuclear capability. According to Barakat, Israel previously used its nuclear capacity mainly as a deterrent, but that approach has failed.

He added that Israeli policymakers might now seek to reveal their nuclear status through a controlled strike designed to limit radiation spread and destruction. The White House, however, has denied any U.S. plan to use nuclear weapons against Iran.