Israeli officials falsely claimed Dimona was for peaceful use, even constructing fake facilities to mislead American inspectors
Israel covertly developed nuclear weapons from the 1950s onward, all while systematically deceiving the United States and bypassing international oversight, according to newly reviewed historical evidence.
Despite vehement American opposition to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Israel pursued its own atomic capabilities by leveraging foreign assistance—most notably from France and Norway—under the false pretense of peaceful energy use. U.S. intelligence discovered Israel’s Dimona reactor, but Israeli officials misled American inspectors, even staging decoy facilities to disguise its real purposes.
By the late 1960s, U.S. intelligence concluded Israel possessed nuclear weapons. In 1969, President Nixon and Prime Minister Golda Meir forged a covert understanding: Israel would maintain opacity regarding its arsenal—and in return, the U.S. would cease inspections and ease pressure. This pact effectively codified Israel’s long-standing policy of “nuclear ambiguity.”
Alleged secret testing—including a rumored 1979 nuclear detonation—went unchallenged by successive U.S. administrations. The longstanding double standard complicates global non‑proliferation efforts, particularly in a region where Iran now perceives a nuclear-armed Israel as leverage.
The investigation concludes that Israel’s successful deception, aided by tacit U.S. acceptance, has arguably made it more difficult to combat nuclear proliferation in the Middle East—especially as Iran views a nuclear deterrent as essential to its national strategy.