In rare push, US lawmakers demand transparency on Israel nuclear capability

Washington, DC – A group of Democrats in the United States Congress have called on the State Department to break the US government’s longstanding silence on Israel’s nuclear capabilities . In a letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Democrats pointed to the US-Israel war on Iran as the reason more clarity is urgently needed. Recommended Stories list of 3 items end of list While Israel is believed to have possessed nuclear weapons since the 1960s, it maintains “a policy of nuclear opacity, never officially confirming the existence of its nuclear weapons program and arsenal”, according to the Washington, DC-based Nuclear Threat Initiative. The White House has also long maintained ambiguity on the issue, despite a handful of glancing admissions. In turn, lawmakers in Congress have launched several coordinated public efforts for greater transparency amid decades of bipartisan support for Israel. “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,” the letter, signed by 30 members of Congress, said. …