• - --- - - -- ---•--- - - •• - a-t -S ilillll• --- --- - DEC U S siF ED REPRODUCED 'f'HE NATIONAL ARCHIVES - Auttcri y c i j _ iLJ1 r AHA D t llq01 'ii 1 i rui 'l J ii l l O l r - U lRIGIN CTION Sy AF l I _ 2 J r -- - - --- isT ATE _ -- -- ----1-····_·--· _ _ _ _ __________ - - I ARA EUR N EA CU lNR E P 10 L FBO AID A-818 FE ·--- Ca 1 ro __ --···-·· - •- • ___' · LIMIT DIST RJ ur • · coPV l'Jtr _ 1 ······ ··sE 1ES -A· INT LAB TAR TR XMB A' R S • y-t V UC SIIAA - - A-•-·A --_r • · • _ FORRMUSEONLY A f fl Department of State _ FRB J Jr ------ --- --------- SECRET - NO FORN Info COM J cF 2 1- NO TO AGR _ • FROM Fi ' M 1LYSI DISTRJBUT'ON 1 t 4NCH DATE H--- April 21 1964 ·p 'fl'r ' SUBJECT Peres Es ol i and_Meir on Nuclear Weapons in the Near East Rn'I REF y r- 5 - - Do you think the UAR wili ''acqµ±il l nuclear -weapons and if it does what would be Israel's reaction 11 This question was put to Deputy Defense Minister Shimon PERES by a member of the visiting National War College Group 7 Earlie r · the same da y April 14 Prime Minister Levi ESHKOL told the G roup that Dimona· was being built and will be used for peaceful research purposes He said Din10na 1 s primary function would be to serve as a training laboratory for Israeli scientists -who in view of the country 1 s need for desalinated sea water had to learn nuclear techniques Foreign Minister Golda MEIR had told the Group that i t__Yl o JJJ d be 11 aw ru1 11 if Israel were so sorely _pressed that it 4ad to seek nuclear s - • W MI_ ' ' vreapons- -·· -·-·-----··-- _ _ t -• _ _ There were several hours between the NWC Group's meetings 'With Eshkol and Meir in Jerusalem and its session with Peres at the Ministry · of Defense in Tel Aviv From the readiness and precision of Peres• response to the question about the UAR's nuclear capabilities it appeared he had given the matter more than several hours' thought ' Pe res outlined four possibilities all of them based on the a sstml tion that the · UAR intends to acquire nuclear weapons ·First the UAR might have to develop nuclear arms on its o-wn If so Israel would not be very worried for the process would t ke 11 some years maybe ten and much can happen in such a long time u Second the UAR might cooperate with other countries to develop nuclea r weapons This seems a more likely L FORM 4 _ 62 _J - • • - SECRET - NO FORJ if DS-323 FOR DEPT usE r--- Ont e n 1'assITicatTonAp ved t ---P _O L S 'E 'P-c-ca lm 'e-' 'r ''-'J 1_· _ c s - -a 4_ - c 1_6 _ _6_4_- -- - I_AJvif3 - Wal worth Barbol JJ ' d DCM NSBarnes MJJ GROUP 2 NAV A Capt Dani Exem pted from automatic domigradiug by learances 1rs o r - · 00ut t · • ecre· a y o Embassy _ __ -------•- REPRODUCED r THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES WWWW4I I - _ _ __AW DEC LASS If EO I •I Jc C ' - - l Autr c ri y -c JdiJ_ I s iL ___ r- Arv Date IIJ DJ - '11D -·-- c - i SECRET-NO FORN Page 2 A-8J-8 from Tel Aviv possibility Israel is particularly concerned about indications of serious ffiJL n U ill £Q U J2Qr a li Q ' lt' Q J J l JlO Yugq1 1 J v l • Such collaboration could appreciably shorten the time required to produce weapons 'l'hird some power might give nuclear weapons to the UAR This is unlikely for 11 the Russians as well as the Americans oppose the proliferation of independent nuclear arsenals to the Near East 11 - Fourth the Soviets might station some of their own nuclear weapon units in the UAR retaining control of those units This possibility is a bit more likely than the third one but is 11 not very probable after what happened in Cuba ' A In reply to the second part of the question Peres clearly implied that I if' the UAR obtained nuclear weapons Israel would too but he emphasized Israel would not be the first to introduce such weapons into the Near- East CO MlvlENT Patently nth countries do not develop nuclear weapons overnight in sudden response to the clear acquisition of such weapons by their potential enemies No doubt Israel will seek to keep its option for nuclear weapons fabrication more on the ready than Israeli intelligence estimates tbe UAR's option to be The process oi' 11 introduction to the Near East will if completed have ta ken years the ultimate responsibility obfuscated in mutual recriminations Department pass to other interested posts as appropriate FOR THE AMBASSADOR g g Stephen E Palmer Jr First Secretary of Embassy a1 SECRET - NO FOR NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE This document is from the holdings of The National Security Archive Suite 701 Gelman Library The George Washington University 2130 H Street NW Washington D C 20037 Phone 202 994-7000 Fax 202 994-7005 nsarchiv@gwu edu Read related article Duplicity Deception and Self-Deception Israel the United States and the Dimona Inspections 1964-65 2020-11-03