Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) tweeted on May 4, 2026:

That tweet accompanied a letter signed by Castro and twenty-nine other House Democrats addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The lawmakers argued that Congress has a constitutional duty to understand the nuclear balance in the Middle East, especially now that American forces are fighting alongside Israel against Iran.

"We are in the fullest sense, fighting this war side by side with a country whose potential nuclear weapons program the United States government officially refuses to acknowledge," the letter stated. "Congress has a constitutional responsibility to be fully informed about the nuclear balance in the Middle East, the risk of escalation by any party to this conflict, and the administration's planning and contingencies for such scenarios."

Israel has maintained a deliberate posture known as nuclear opacity—in Hebrew, amimut—for nearly six decades. The policy was formally codified in 1969 in a secret accord between Prime Minister Golda Meir and President Richard Nixon, and has remained in place ever since. As Foreign Affairs summarized, it combines secrecy, signaling, and denial: officials are prohibited "both by law and by custom" from discussing nuclear activities; Israel implies capability without confirming it; and the government neither confirms nor denies possession.