Democrats urge Rubio to acknowledge Israel possesses nuclear weapons amid Iran war

House Democrats have asked secretary of state Marco Rubio to publicly announce that Israel possesses nuclear weapons, arguing that Washington must end decades of ambiguity over the issue amid the conflict with Iran. In a letter sent on Monday, 30 Democrats wrote that it was unsustainable for Donald Trump to collaborate with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a military campaign against Iran – with the stated goal of preventing the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon – without publicly acknowledging the US ally’s possession of the bomb. “We are, in the fullest sense, fighting this war side by side with a country whose potential nuclear weapons program the United States government officially refuses to acknowledge,” reads the letter, which was led by Texas Democrat Joaquin Castro. “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 programs and no US administration has publicly stated that it exists, despite considerable evidence to the contrary. The program traces its origins to the 1950s, with assistance from US allies including France and apartheid South Africa. …