Vision to Reality: The Reut Blog

Last week a reported confrontation broke out at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors regarding Israel’s accusations that the agency’s investigation into the purported Syrian nuclear site was biased. During the discussion IAEA Head Mohamed ElBaradei sarcastically remarked that “Israel is not even a member of the non-proliferation regime yet presumes to tell us what to do. We would appreciate it if you stopped preaching to us how we should do our jobs.”

Following an agreement between Prime Minister Golda Meir and U.S President Richard Nixon in 1969, Israel did not join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT.) The agreement stated that the U.S. would de-facto acknowledge Israel’s nuclear capabilities and not demand its participation in the NPT as long as Israel maintained a low profile and did not reveal its capabilities via public statements or nuclear testing. Since then, this tacit agreement between the two countries regarding Israel’s nuclear policies is considered to be one of the components of the Israel-U.S Special Relationship.

The Reut institute recently published a document called ‘Israel’s Nuclear Ambiguity Policy’ that refers to Israeli’s policy of not exposing how developed its nuclear program is. This policy is considered to be central to its national security strategy.

Click here for the ‘Israel’s Nuclear Ambiguity Policy’