The US Secretary of State has defied Congress by dodging questions about the US government’s position on Israel’s nuclear program.
US Democrats pressed top diplomat Marco Rubio on whether Israel has nuclear weapons, but the secretary of state did not provide a clear answer.
Rubio told Congressman Joaquin Castro during Wednesday’s hearing that “much of the world appreciates that,” but declined to share the U.S. government’s own position on Israel’s nuclear weapons.
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He suggested that the issue should instead be discussed in private.
The exchange highlighted a decades-old taboo in American politics against speaking publicly about Israel’s nuclear program.
Rubio acknowledged that refraining from discussing Israel’s nuclear weapons is a “characteristic” of U.S. foreign policy.
But Castro persisted, stressing the need to answer questions now that the United States is waging a joint war against Israel and Iran.
“Even if they actually have nuclear weapons, and you’re right that the open source reporting tells us that, we don’t know what the red line is for them to use them,” Castro said.
“So I think I’m shocked that our government doesn’t make an effort to know, understand, and provide oversight agencies with the information they need to make decisions about war.”
Rubio said the questions were “fair” and that he was prepared to answer them in a confidential format.
“These things require a delicate balancing act between different stocks, but I think if you can answer that inquiry in a different context, you’ll probably get a fuller answer,” he said.
Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Gaza, is widely believed to have nuclear weapons.
US allies have been accused by major rights groups and UN investigators of carrying out genocide in Gaza. However, the United States receives billions of dollars in military aid from Washington each year.
Israel is not a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
On February 28, the administration of US President Donald Trump joined in the attack on Iran with the stated purpose of preventing Israel from acquiring nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies acquiring.
Although Israel has never officially admitted to possessing nuclear weapons, some Israeli officials have hinted at deploying them.
For example, in November 2023, the country’s Minister of Culture and Heritage Amichai Eliyahu suggested that dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza was an “option.”
Pro-Israel politicians in the United States have also urged Israel to use nuclear weapons against the Palestinians.
“We nuked Japan twice to get their unconditional surrender, and it needs to be the same here,” U.S. Representative Randy Fine, an ally of President Trump, said last year.
In May, Castro wrote a letter signed by 30 members of Congress to the U.S. State Department demanding clarification about Israel’s nuclear program and the U.S. policy of not talking about it.
“We cannot develop a coherent nonproliferation policy toward the Middle East, including Iran’s civilian nuclear program and Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear ambitions, while maintaining a policy of official silence about the nuclear weapons capabilities of one side that is at the center of an ongoing conflict in which the United States directly participates,” the letter said.
