World3 min(s) read
Published 14:17 07 Apr 2026 GMT
18 countries directly exposed to radioactive fallout if a nuclear strike hit Iran
18 countries are likely to be directly affected if Donald Trump follows through on his implied nuclear threats against Iran.
Trump has threatened to destroy the ‘whole civilization’ if an ultimatum isn’t met.
Donald Trump is fuelling World War Three fears
It’s not exactly new for Donald Trump to be driving worldwide fears of another global conflict.
He’s been threatening countries left, right and center, and he recently made his most credible threat yet that he might be planning a huge strike.
JD Vance has also upped the rhetoric, warning that there are ‘tools’ available to the USA that haven’t been brought to the theater of conflict yet.
You wouldn’t have to be a codebreaker to work out what he’s referring to there.
However, Iran has hit back with threats of its own, claiming that it would hit other targets in the region if attacked.
But, if the US wants to start chucking nuclear weapons around, it wouldn’t be good news for other countries in the area either.
In fact, there are 18 that could be directly affected.
The impact of nuclear war would have far-reaching consequences
The long and short of it is that it would affect everyone, as Iran is a key economic market for gas and oil, as well as the shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
There would be widespread economic effects, as well as environmental effects from any nuclear attack, let alone the chain of events that it could spark in motion from other countries.
But several countries would be badly affected directly, through fallout if not the initial blast.
Iran would take the worst of it, but not all of it
It goes almost without saying that the blast would be catastrophic for Iran.
If that is the direct target, any nuclear strike would be a terrible tragedy for the country.
However, many countries that border Iran would also be keeping an eye on events - as well as the weather forecast - and praying that the threat of attack does not materialize.
While Iran would be ground zero for the blast, radiation, and damage to the country’s infrastructure, it shares a number of land borders that would be the first countries to feel the fallout effects.
Those countries are Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
The countries in the Persian Gulf would also suffer
Across the water are a number of other states that would really feel the impact too, given that they share air currents and seawater with Iran.
Those countries are Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
That region relies quite heavily on desalinated water for drinking, and if the whole Persian Gulf becomes contaminated, there’ll be huge problems.
What’s more, there could be other countries at risk.
Secondary risk countries might feel the effects
This is a bit less certain, but depending on the wind, there could be more countries in the region affected directly by fallout.
Those countries are Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan.
It’s hard to be exact about what exactly would happen in the event of nuclear war, but the key thing to remember is that it would be broadly bad for all countries concerned.
It’s best for everyone that it doesn’t happen and that sense prevails among the two countries, who can hopefully find a diplomatic solution without the world having to find out how accurate this list is.
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