As many as 30 US democrats have demanded the US government end ambiguity over Israel’s nuclear programme, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Wednesday.
In a letter to Secretary of State Mark Rubio, these democrats have said that the US is siding with that country in war against Iran whose potential nuclear programme it has been officially refusing to acknowledge for the last several decades.
It is further written in the letter that an ambiguity over Israel’s nuclear programme makes nuclear non-proliferation in the Middle East an impossible task.
“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.”
Israel has never acknowledged its nuclear weapons programmes and no US administration has publicly stated that it exists, despite considerable evidence that it does.
The programme traces its origins to the 1950s, with assistance from US allies, including France and South Africa.
Yet US presidents have for decades avoided discussing the subject, with Barack Obama responding to a reporter’s question about it early in his presidency by saying he did not wish to “speculate”.
The letter notes that other US government officials have essentially admitted its existence.
In a 2006 confirmation hearing as secretary of defence, Robert Gates had said of Iran: “They are surrounded by powers with nuclear weapons – Pakistan to their east, the Russians to the north, the Israelis to the west and us in the Persian Gulf.”