By SAM MEDNICK
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) ā Israel has declared its intent to obliterate Iranās nuclear program due to the perceived threat it poses to Israel’s survival.
Despite Israel’s decades-long reputation as the only Middle Eastern nation with nuclear weapons, its leaders have neither confirmed nor denied the existence of such weapons.
Experts suggest that Israel’s deliberate ambiguity has allowed it to enhance its deterrence against Iran and other adversaries without provoking a nuclear arms race in the region or inviting preemptive strikes.
As one of only five countries not party to the global nuclear nonproliferation treaty, Israel faces no international pressure to disarm or permit inspections of its nuclear facilities.
Critics from Iran and elsewhere have accused Western nations of double standards, closely monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities while turning a blind eye to Israel’s suspected nuclear arsenal.
Recently, the U.S. military conducted airstrikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, inserting itself into Israel’s campaign against Iran’s nuclear program.
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FILE ā A view of Israelās Sorek nuclear reactor center near the central Israeli town of Yavne, on July 5, 2004. (AP Photo, File)
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FILE ā A view of Israelās Sorek nuclear reactor center near the central Israeli town of Yavne, on July 5, 2004. (AP Photo, File)
Hereās a deeper dive into Israel’s nuclear program:
A legacy of nuclear ambiguity
Israel established its Negev Nuclear Research Center in Dimona in 1958, under the leadership of Prime Minister David Ben Gurion, who believed nuclear deterrence was essential for the country’s security given its precarious geopolitical position.
For a decade, Israel concealed the activities at Dimona, informing U.S. officials that it was a textile factory, according to a 2022 article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Utilizing plutonium from Dimona, Israel has possessed the capability to deploy nuclear warheads since the early 1970s, as noted in the aforementioned article by Hans M. Kristensen and Matt Korda.
Israel’s policy of ambiguity faced a setback in 1986 when Dimona’s operations were exposed by former technician Mordechai Vanunu, who provided evidence to The Sunday Times of London.
Vanunu was imprisoned for treason for 18 years and remains restricted from meeting foreigners or leaving Israel.
Israel believed to hold numerous nuclear warheads
Experts estimate that Israel has between 80 and 200 nuclear warheads, with the lower end of the range considered more likely.
Additionally, Israel reportedly stockpiles up to 1,110 kilograms of plutonium, enough to manufacture 277 nuclear weapons, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative. The country possesses six submarines capable of launching nuclear cruise missiles and ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead up to 6,500 kilometers.
Germany has supplied all of Israel’s submarines, which are stationed in Haifa, according to Kristensen and Korda.
Nuclear arms in the Middle East pose significant risks
In a region characterized by conflicts, political instability, and shifting alliances, nuclear proliferation in the Middle East is especially perilous, warns Or Rabinowitz, a scholar at Jerusalemās Hebrew University and a visiting associate professor at Stanford University.
Rabinowitz suggests that Israel’s military leaders might consider using a nuclear weapon in response to an extreme threat, such as the deployment of a weapon of mass destruction against Israel.
Aside from Israel, three other countries have rejected the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: India, Pakistan, and South Sudan. North Korea has withdrawn from the treaty. While Iran is a signatory, it was recently censured by the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog for violating its obligations.
Israel’s policy of ambiguity has shielded it from closer scrutiny, according to Susie Snyder from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. She highlights the failure of Western nations to curb nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, suggesting a reluctance to acknowledge their own involvement.
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