U.S. Lawmakers Urge Trump Administration to Reveal Israel's Nuclear Weapons Program

Tehran - BORNA - The Washington Post reported that a group of House Democrats called on the Trump administration to publicly disclose Israel’s undeclared nuclear weapons program. Such a move would abandon decades of U.S. policy by confirming what has been an "open secret" among intelligence officials since the late 1960s.

Led by Joaquin Castro, the lawmakers stated in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio: "Washington’s silence on this program is untenable amid the war against Iran and the severe threat of military escalation."

The lawmakers wrote: "The risks of miscalculation, escalation, and the use of a nuclear weapon in this environment are not hypothetical. Congress has a constitutional responsibility to be fully informed about the nuclear balance in the Middle East, the risk of escalation, and the administration’s planning and contingencies for such scenarios. We have received no information on this matter."

U.S. government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some within the Trump administration also harbor concerns about nuclear escalation, noting that Israel's "red lines" may not be properly understood.

Israel has never admitted to building nuclear weapons, a project that began secretly in the late 1950s, nor has it formally announced its doctrine on how it might use such weapons.

This letter is the latest sign of a shifting approach within the Democratic Party toward Israel, amid growing frustration over civilian casualties in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon, as well as high-level lobbying in Washington for a war against Iran.

Avner Cohen, a prominent historian of Israel's nuclear program, said the letter breaks a taboo that has lasted for more than half a century. Cohen, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and author of Israel and the Bomb, said: "This is something people didn’t dare to do before. Even raising these questions publicly is a departure from the bipartisan norm."

Cohen added: "The posture of silence by the U.S. and Israel on the nuclear issue dates back to an informal agreement between then-U.S. President Richard Nixon and then-Israeli Prime Minister Goldda Meir in 1969, when Washington effectively accepted Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity and agreed to shield it from international scrutiny." He noted, "Israel could not have maintained this policy for decades alone without the United States."

The letter's authors argue that this policy now undermines U.S. credibility, as Washington seeks to limit the nuclear programs of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE without acknowledging Israel's own nuclear weapons program. They wrote to Rubio: "We cannot formulate a coherent non-proliferation policy for the Middle East while maintaining a policy of official silence regarding the nuclear weapons capabilities of one of the main parties in the ongoing conflict."

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the non-profit Arms Control Association, noted that Israel's stance is strongly opposed to changing the status quo, stating: "Lack of recognition allows Israel to divert attention to other countries in the region pursuing nuclear activities."

In March, Castro asked Thomas DiNanno, a senior State Department arms control official, to describe Israel's nuclear weapons capability in a public hearing, but DiNanno refused, saying: "I cannot comment on that specific question."

In an interview with The Washington Post, the Texas representative said the U.S. "should not refrain from disclosing this information simply out of politeness and respect when there is so much risk to service members, the economy, and America." Joaquin Castro added that U.S. officials speak publicly about the nuclear weapons programs of Britain, France, India, Pakistan, Russia, North Korea, and China, and Israel should be no different.

Jeremy Shapiro, a former Obama administration official, said the Democrats' push for transparency reflects a "deeper re-examination" of Israel occurring within the party.

Last month, in an unprecedented move, 40 Senate Democrats voted to block arms transfers to Israel. According to a Pew Research Center report, 80 percent of Democrats now view Israel unfavorably, a figure that stood at 53 percent in 2022.

Shapiro said: "Many, perhaps most Democrats currently want to see fundamental changes in the U.S.-Israel relationship. The first change these Democrats want to see is for the United States to hold Israel to the same standards as others on issues like nuclear weapons."

U.S. officials stated that the U.S. executive branch, under both political parties, has maintained a policy of secrecy; however, there have recently been discussions among Trump administration officials regarding what might trigger an Israeli nuclear response, and concerns that the threshold for a reaction may be lower than Washington’s previous assessment.

In their letter to the U.S. Secretary of State, Democrats demanded detailed information on Israel’s nuclear program, including its level of enrichment capabilities, the location of fissile material production, and whether Israel has communicated its "red lines" for the use of nuclear weapons in the current war with Iran to the United States.

Castro also said that if certain answers could only be disclosed in a classified setting, he could comply, but he would not back down on the fundamental question of whether Israel has a nuclear weapons program.

"This is not something that should be kept secret from the world," he admitted.

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