Thirty Democratic members of the U.S. Congress are demanding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio break Washington’s long silence on Israel’s presumed nuclear arsenal, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
The lawmakers, led by Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas, argue that Washington’s silence on Israel’s nuclear program is no longer defensible in light of recent regional developments, particularly the war with Iran. They asked Rubio for detailed information about Israel’s nuclear program, including its enrichment capabilities and where enriched material is produced. They also asked whether Israel had conveyed to the United States its “red lines” for using nuclear weapons in the current conflict.
“The risks of miscalculation, escalation, and nuclear use in this environment are not theoretical,” the lawmakers wrote. “American service members continue to be deployed throughout the region. Congress has a constitutional responsibility to be fully informed about the nuclear balance in the Middle East, the risk of escalation by any party to this conflict, and the administration's planning and contingencies for such scenarios. We do not believe we have received that information.”
They argue that the United States cannot demand limits on the nuclear programs of countries in the region — Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — without acknowledging Israel’s nuclear program.
"We cannot develop coherent nonproliferation policy for the Middle East, including with respect to Iran's civil nuclear program and Saudi Arabia's civil nuclear ambitions, while maintaining a policy of official silence about the nuclear weapons capabilities of one party central to the ongoing conflict in which the United States is a direct participant," the lawmakers wrote. "We ask that you hold Israel to the same standard of transparency that the United States expects from any other country that may be pursuing or retaining nuclear weapons capability."
Israel is believed internationally to possess about 90 nuclear warheads but, under its policy of ambiguity, it neither confirms nor denies those reports. Israeli leaders have said only that “Israel will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East.” That policy has been supported by the United States, with both Republican and Democratic administrations long avoiding comment on Israel’s nuclear capabilities.
The letter, though signed by only a minority of Democratic lawmakers, is seen as further evidence of a shift on Israel within the American left in recent years, especially since the Hamas-led October 7 massacre and the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Avner Cohen, a historian at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, who specializes in Israel’s nuclear program, told The Washington Post that the letter represents the breaking of a half-century taboo in American politics.
“This is something that people did not dare do before," he said. “Even raising these questions publicly is a departure from a bipartisan norm."
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The Israeli-American silence surrounding Israel’s nuclear program was agreed upon between President Richard Nixon and Prime Minister Golda Meir
(Photo: AP)
According to Cohen, the Israeli-American silence surrounding Israel’s nuclear program was agreed upon between President Richard Nixon and Prime Minister Golda Meir in 1969. He said the United States also agreed then to use ambiguity to shield Israel from international oversight.
“Israel alone could not have maintained this policy over decades without the United States," he said.
The Washington Post report also includes claims — played down in the article and not highlighted in its headlines — that some in the Trump administration are uneasy about Israel’s red lines regarding nuclear use. The newspaper said the claims were made by U.S. administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The officials said the administration had recently held discussions about what might trigger an Israeli nuclear response, including concerns that the threshold could be lower than previously assessed in Washington.
“There is a low boil of unease about Israel’s nuclear program and what could compel them to use nuclear weapons short of facing a WMD attack,” said an administration official, using the acronym for weapons of mass destruction.
The Post claimed, in a report not corroborated by additional sources, that one scenario receiving “fresh consideration” by U.S. officials is one in which Israel’s air defense systems fail to cope with a large missile attack “from its neighbors.” The question of whether Israel would turn to a nuclear response if faced with an especially high number of civilian casualties is discussed “frequently,” the newspaper wrote, citing one U.S. official.
The newspaper also referred to Iranian attacks during the war on the southern cities of Dimona and Arad, located in close proximity to the nuclear research facility in Dimona, saying the strikes exposed “gaps” in Israel's air defense umbrella.
Castro, who is behind the Democratic lawmakers’ letter, had already called in March for disclosure of Israel’s nuclear capabilities, raising the issue during a House hearing with Thomas DiNanno, the State Department’s senior weapons procurement official.
“I can’t address that specific question,” DiNanno replied at the time.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Castro said the United States “shouldn’t refuse to disclose this information about a foreign nation simply out of courtesy when there’s so much at stake for our own service members, our economy and our country.”
He asked why the United States officially discusses the nuclear programs of Britain, France, India, Pakistan, Russia, North Korea and China, but not Israel’s.
“It should not be different,” he said. “That’s not something that should be kept secret to the world.”
The letter reflects a negative trend in attitudes toward Israel within the U.S. Democratic camp, against the backdrop of polls showing a dramatic shift in American public opinion, especially among young people. According to a Pew survey from last month, 80% of Democrats now hold an unfavorable view of Israel, compared with 53% in a 2022 survey.
The shift is evident not only in the House but also in the Senate, where 40 of the upper chamber’s 47 Democrats voted last month against weapons shipments to Israel.
“Many, perhaps most Democrats, at this point want to see fundamental changes in the U.S.-Israeli relationship,” Jeremy Shapiro, a former senior Obama administration official, told The Washington Post. “The first change that these Democrats want to see is for the U.S. to hold Israel to the same standards as other countries on issues such as nuclear weapons.”