What are the closest potential nuclear targets to North Carolina?

Nuclear war fears are on the rise amid the United States-Israel bombing in Iran. Here’s a look at potential nuclear targets near North Carolina.

The U.S. began “Operation Epic Fury” on Feb. 28 when it launched strikes against Iran, bombing over 1,000 targets at the start. The conflict has since lasted two weeks and cost taxpayers at least $11.3 billion.

The Trump Administration listed several reasons for launching its ongoing attack on Iran. Among them are destroying Iran’s missile capabilities and preventing Iran from building or rebuilding nuclear weapons.

Concerns about global conflict were already on the rise before the operation commenced. In January, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set their Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds to midnight. This is the closest in its history the clock has been to midnight, signifying potential catastrophe in the not-too-distant future.

Opinion: North Carolina has a lot to lose in Trump’s already unpopular war in Iran

Whatever the reason, concerns about global conflict have only risen, including the fear of nuclear war.

A woman looks at a house destroyed by an Iranian missile strike in Zarzir, northern Israel, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Can Iran bomb the US? Does Iran have nuclear weapons?

Iran reportedly does not have nuclear weapons, although President Donald Trump said in his State of the Union address on Feb. 24 that Iran was “working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.” Experts and diplomats, however, told the Wall Street Journal that little evidence exists that Iran could build missiles that reach the U.S. in the near future.

Where would a nuclear attack most likely happen in the US?

World Population Review recently put together a map of nuclear targets. Several cities were included: Philadelphia, New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver, Houston, Chicago, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and Washington D.C. There were also multiple facilities listed:

• Colorado: NORAD and Peterson Space Force Base
• Georgia: Kings Bay Naval Base
• Hawaii: VLF Transmitter Lualualei
• Louisiana: Barksdale Air Force Base
• Montana: Malmstrom Air Force Base
• Missouri: Whiteman Air Force Base
• New Mexico: Kirtland Air Force Base Albuquerque
• North Dakota: Minot Air Force Base
• Nebraska: U.S. Strategic Command, and Offutt Air Force Base
• Pennsylvania: Raven Rock Mountain Complex
• Texas: Pantex Plant
• Utah: Hill Air Fore Base
• Virginia: The Pentagon, and Naval Station Norfolk
• Washington: Jim Creek Naval Radio Station, and Naval Base Kitsap
• Wyoming: F.E. Warren Air Force Base

Which potential nuclear target is closest to North Carolina?

The Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia is about 40 miles from the North Carolina border and  247 miles from Wilmington — the closest of the above targets. The Pentagon, also in Virginia, is about 217 miles from the NC border and  356 miles from Wilmington, and Kings Bay Naval Base in southern Georgia is 416 miles away.

A nuclear-preparedness document from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security states that a nuclear explosion’s area-of-effect depends on the yield of the bomb, the topography at the explosion site and weather conditions.

The document states that fallout could potentially travel hundreds of miles, but its concentration and radiation dose decrease as it spreads and as time passes.

Nuclear fallout map simulator

After a nuclear explosion, a mushroom cloud forms, then disperses into a plume of radioactive dirt, dust and debris known as fallout. Unshielded exposure to 1,200 rads would prove lethal — and two rads prompts a widespread evacuation, according to the EPA.

Over two years at Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security, Sebastien Philippe and his fellow researchers have studied the consequences of nuclear fallout from an attack on U.S. missile silos. Their interactive map, “Under the Nuclear Cloud”, allows users to put in their ZIP code to see their risk of radiation exposure in the event of a such an attack.

The closest of these silos are over 1,700 miles from Wilmington.

The simulation shows that 28401, the ZIP code for downtown Wilmington, would receive 0.02 Gy, or two rads, over four days after an attack on these silos — enough to prompt evacuation by EPA standards.

Reporting by Charlie Kingree, Wilmington StarNews / Wilmington StarNews

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