The clause was directed at Israel, which over the past five decades has developed a nuclear- weapons program but has neither denied nor admitted the existence of its nuclear arsenal; Israelis call this . But as diplomatic pressure intensifies on Iran, new attention has been focused on Israel's nuclear capabilities and the challenges its program poses for peace in the Middle East. What is the capacity of Israel’s nuclear program? It's a widely held belief among arms- control experts that Israel began its nuclear program in the mid- 1. One estimate, by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), puts its arsenal at around 2. Israel the sixth- largest nuclear power. These warheads can be launched by air (F- 1. The Avner Cohen Collection features exciting new materials regarding the development of the Israeli nuclear program, including interviews with key policymakers and scientists from Israel, the United States, and France that. F- 1. 5Es), by ground (intermediate- range ballistic missiles like the Jericho II), or by sea (U. S.- made Harpoon missiles based on diesel- powered submarines or ships). Experts say Israeli missiles can reach Libya, Iran, or Russia. It is also believed Israel possesses at least 1. WMD). How do we know about Israel’s nuclear program? American U- 2 spy planes in 1. Israel's Dimona nuclear complex, located in the Negev desert.
Instead, much of what the outside world knows about Israel's nuclear capabilities came from Mordechai Vanunu, a nuclear technician who worked at Dimona and leaked details of the program to the British press in 1. For his actions, he was sentenced for treason and espionage and spent eighteen years behind bars in Israel, eleven of them in solitary confinement. Why did Israel embark on a nuclear- weapons program? Israel has sought an . Israel's weapons program . Experts point to Israel's Arab neighbors' alleged biological and chemical weapons programs as threats that justify its nuclear arsenal. In the 1. 99. 0s, the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles by Pakistan and North Korea raised the likelihood, in Israeli eyes, of such weapons falling into the hands of its enemies. Iran's more recent moves to enrich uranium, coupled with its president's calls to wipe Israel . A nuclear- armed Iran would likely have more confidence to fund terrorists groups opposed to Israel, says Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center. Why is Israel deliberately vague about its nuclear arsenal? Primarily for deterrence purposes, experts say. Charles Ferguson II, a science and technology fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, says Israel . In July 2. 00. 4, the IAEA's director general urged Israel to abandon its nuclear program as part of regional arms- control talks. Though Israel balks whenever the subject is raised, it has said it would not be the first country in the Middle East to formally introduce nuclear weapons into the region. Israel, moreover, is on record as supporting a WMD- free Middle East. But conditions by Israel would be stringent, experts say. First, there must be . Second, Israel's neighbors, including Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, would have to verifiably dismantle their suspected chemical and biological weapons programs. What does Israel’s nuclear capability mean for the Middle East? Arab states, particularly Egypt, often shift attention at nuclear arms control conferences toward Israel's nuclear stockpile and raise the issue of achieving a nuclear- free Middle East. According to Joseph Cirincione, director for non- proliferation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, most weapons programs in the Middle East began in direct response to Israel's decision to go nuclear in the 1. The main motivation, for example, behind Iran's nuclear program is not Israel, he says, but . Because Israel and Iran have no territorial disputes and Israel has never threatened Iran from a nuclear standpoint, he writes, ? Nuclear weapons and Israel Israel; Nuclear program start date: 1948–49 : First nuclear weapon test: Unknown; Partner in early French testing. The exact costs for the construction of the Israeli nuclear program are unknown. A little noticed 1987 report, declassified in February, has suddenly made explicit Israel’s nuclear program. Michael Karpin unpacks its implications. JERUSALEM — Meir Dagan, the Israeli soldier and spymaster who was widely credited with setting back Iran’s nuclear program through covert and daring operations as the director of the Mossad intelligence agency. THE ISRAELI NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM This idea, first proposed by Egypt and Iran in a 1. UN General Assembly resolution, faces numerous obstacles. Because of recent elections of Hamas in the Palestinian territories and the nuclear showdown over Iran, Brom says a nuclear- free Middle East . In a New York Timesop- ed, he points to recent remarks on the subject by Saudi Arabia's foreign minister: . Bennett Ramberg, who served in the State Department under then- President George H. Bush, in a May/June 2. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, suggested that membership for Israel in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) might mitigate Israeli insecurity. Others, however, say this is unrealistic, given misgivings about Israeli policies among some NATO members. On February 1. 0, Israel's Ambassador to Germany, Shimon Stein, told Reuters . But Iran poses a greater challenge than Iraq did—its nuclear sites are more fortified and scattered throughout the country, many of them underground. Israel’s Nuclear Program and Middle East Peace. Author: Lionel Beehner February 10, 2006 This publication is now archived. Israel’s Nuclear Program By Volha Charnysh, NAPF Intern September 3, 2009. Employing its F- 1. Israel could probably take out several of Iran's nuclear sites, including Isfahan and Natanz, but not all, experts say. While such a strike would delay Iran's nuclear capabilities, it would not eradicate its nuclear ambitions, says CFR's Ferguson. What is the likelihood of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East? According to recent workshops by the U. S. Army's Strategic Studies Institute, if Iran's nuclear program were left unchecked, this could encourage Tehran's Arab neighbors and Turkey either to seek nuclear capabilities of their own (i. Israel) or to import nuclear technologies (i. Ferguson says this could set off a . Instead, Ferguson predicts that, in response to a nuclear- weapons- capable Iran, some Arab states and Turkey might.
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