Does Israel have nukes? โMost of the world assesses they do,โ says Rubio
A Democratic lawmaker in the United States has grilled top diplomat Marco Rubio on whether Israel has nuclear weapons, but the secretary of state did not provide a clear answer. โMost of the world assesses that they do,โ Rubio told Congressman Joaquin Castro at a hearing on Wedn
A Democratic lawmaker in the United States has grilled top diplomat Marco Rubio on whether Israel has nuclear weapons, but the secretary of state did not provide a clear answer.
โMost of the world assesses that they do,โ Rubio told Congressman Joaquin Castro at a hearing on Wednesday, though he refused to share Washingtonโs own position on Israelโs nuclear weapons.
He then suggested instead that the issue should be discussed in a private setting.
The exchange underscored a decades-long taboo in US politics against publicly talking about Israelโs nuclear programme.
Rubio acknowledged that refraining from discussing Israelโs nuclear weapons is a โfeatureโ of US foreign policy.
But Castro pressed on, emphasising that answering the question is necessary at a time when the US is in a joint war with Israel against Iran.
โIf they, in fact, possess nuclear weapons โ and youโre right, in open-source reporting, that has come across โ we donโt know what their red lines are for using those nuclear weapons,โ Castro said.
โAnd so, I guess Iโm shocked that our government wouldnโt make an effort to know, to understand and then to give our oversight body the information that we need to make decisions about the war.โ

