US House Democrats Urge Trump to Disclose Israel's Undeclared Nuclear Programme

Washington (ANTARA) - Democrats in the United States House of Representatives are demanding that the administration of President Donald Trump openly disclose Israel’s undeclared nuclear weapons programme. In a letter addressed to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 30 Democratic members of the US House of Representatives stated on Tuesday (5/5) that Washington cannot develop a coherent non-proliferation policy for the Middle East while maintaining an official policy of silence on Israel’s nuclear programme amid the US-Israel war against Iran. “We are, in effect, at war alongside a country whose potential nuclear weapons programme is officially refused recognition by the US government,” wrote the parliamentarians, led by US Congressman Joaquin Castro. “The emergence of risks of miscalculation, escalation, and nuclear weapons use in such situations is not merely theoretical,” they said. The Democrats argue that the US Congress “has a constitutional responsibility to obtain complete information regarding the nuclear balance in the Middle East, risks of escalation by any party in this conflict, and the government’s planning and contingency scenarios for such situations.” They request details on Israel’s nuclear weapons capabilities, including warheads and delivery systems, enrichment capabilities, and what has been communicated to Washington regarding Israel’s red lines. Israel is known neither to confirm nor deny possession of nuclear weapons, while the White House has maintained an ambiguous stance on the Zionist state’s nuclear programme for decades. The policy of ambiguity regarding Israel’s nuclear programme “makes a coherent non-proliferation policy in the Middle East impossible, for Iran, for Saudi Arabia, and for every other country in the region that makes decisions based on their perceptions of their neighbours’ capabilities,” wrote the Democratic members.