Reddit reviews The Nuclear Express: A Political History of the Bomb and Its Proliferation

Most people don't know it, but a fusion bombs actually uses a standard nuclear bomb as a detonator. It uses the x-rays generated to compress the fissile material to start the reaction.

Once that step was figured out, scaling them up to tzar bomba really wasn't anything more complicated than adding more fuel(lithium deuteride).

So yeah, pretty hard to set off.

EDIT: For those interested in the history of it, this is a fascinating book: https://www.amazon.com/Nuclear-Express-Political-History-Proliferation/dp/076033904X

I read this that says Israel had a lot of help from the French in developing their program in the 60s and they had help form the South African's in the late 70s test a bomb way off the coast of South Africa.

Insanity? I'll take the word of a Nuclear scientist who has published his claims over the ad hominem attacks of a nationalist.

Pakistan's "economy" benefited from billions of dollars of handouts given by the US because Pakistan was being rented for use against the Soviets in Afghanistan. The Saudis are partial owners/stake-holders in the Pak nuke program. The Libyans were sold a dud by PakMil though.