Report: Trump Pledged Not to Pressure Israel on Nuclear Issue

President Donald Trump signed a secret letter last year assuring Israel that it won’t be pressured to relinquish its alleged nuclear arsenal, The New Yorker reported on Monday

Report: Trump Pledged Not to Pressure Israel on Nuclear Issue

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The New Yorker reported on Monday that US President Donald Trump had signed a secret letter pledging not to pressure Israel into relinquishing its nuclear weapons.

According to the report, a delegation of Israeli officials led by Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer visited the White House in February 2017, about three weeks after Trump was sworn in. The Israelis requested that Trump signs a secret letter about Israel's "undeclared nuclear arsenal."

Previous administrations under presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama had signed such letters at Israel's request, but the Americans, according to The New Yorker, did not know of the existence of these letters.

“Trump’s aides […] knew nothing about the existence of any letters and were confused by the sense of urgency coming from the Israelis. The Americans […] didn’t appreciate feeling as though the Israelis were telling them what to do. ‘This is our fuckin’ house,’ one of the Americans snapped,” according to the report.

The New Yorker said that the original version of the letter was drafted as part of Israel's agreement to participate in the 1998 Wye River negotiations with the Palestinians.

“In the letter, according to former officials, President Bill Clinton assured the Jewish state that no future American arms-control initiative would ‘detract’ from Israel’s ‘deterrent’ capabilities […]. Later, Israeli officials inserted language to make clear to Washington that Israel would ‘defend itself, by itself,’ and that it would, therefore, not consider the American nuclear arsenal to be a substitute for Israeli nuclear arms,” the report added.