US lawmakers urge Trump to end silence on ‘Israel’s’ secret nuclear program

A group of 29 US Democratic lawmakers has sent a letter to the Trump administration calling for the United States to publicly acknowledge 'Israel’s’ nuclear weapons program, challenging long-standing US policy of strategic ambiguity on the issue.

The letter, reported by The Washington Post, urges a departure from decades of official silence that has treated ‘Israel’s’ capabilities as an open secret among intelligence communities.

“That’s not something that should be kept secret to the world,” US Representative Joaquin Castro, who is leading the push, said.

‘Israel’ has maintained a policy of nuclear ambiguity since developing its program in secret beginning in the late 1950s, with US intelligence assessing that it possessed nuclear weapons by the late 1960s.

Successive US administrations, dating back to a reported understanding between President Richard Nixon and ‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Golda Meir in 1969, have refrained from confirming or discussing the arsenal publicly.

This approach has allowed continued US military assistance to ‘Israel’ without triggering certain non-proliferation legal restrictions.

The 29 House Democratic lawmakers argue that the time has come for transparency, particularly amid ongoing regional tensions, including the recent US-‘Israel’ actions against Iran’s nuclear facilities and broader Middle East dynamics.

Public acknowledgment, they contend, would align US policy with known realities and potentially strengthen non-proliferation efforts by addressing inconsistencies in how nuclear programs across the region are treated.

Adopting such a stance would represent a significant policy shift. It could complicate US-‘Israel’ relations and broader diplomatic initiatives while inviting scrutiny under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty framework, which ‘Israel’ has never signed.