This annotated chronology is based on the data sources that follow each entry. Public sources often provide conflicting information on classified military programs. In some cases we are unable to resolve these discrepancies, in others we have deliberately refrained from doing so to highlight the potential influence of false or misleading information as it appeared over time. In many cases, we are unable to independently verify claims. Hence in reviewing this chronology, readers should take into account the credibility of the sources employed here.

Inclusion in this chronology does not necessarily indicate that a particular development is of direct or indirect proliferation significance. Some entries provide international or domestic context for technological development and national policymaking. Moreover, some entries may refer to developments with positive consequences for nonproliferation.

February 2005
Jordanian official Asma Khadir states that Jordan is worried about Israeli nuclear activities and the dangers posed by the Dimona Nuclear reactor. She also says that from recent information, Israel has decided to operate a new nuclear reactor near Dimona in the Negev desert. The new reactor will be operational in 2009.
—"Government Spokeswoman Expresses Worry About Israel's 'Nuclear Activities,'" Al-Ghadd, 7 February 2005, in FBIS Document GMP20050208000124.

February 2005
In an interview between a Hungarian reporter and Iranian Foreign Minister Kharrazi, the Iranian leader reaffirms the necessity for the Middle East to have a nuclear weapon free zone that includes Israel.
—"Hungary: Iran's Foreign Minister Urges Middle East Nuclear Arms Free Zone," Budapest Magyar Nemzet, 16 February 2005, in FBIS Document EUP20050216000391.

March 2005
Mohamad ElBaradei, head of the IAEA, says that the creation of a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone will be pushed again at the Treaty on Non-Proliferation Review Conference that will be held in May 2005. ElBaradei says that Middle East security will be part of the Arab-Israeli peace process as it has in past years. Israeli officials argue that their nuclear weapons do not present a threat to other nations, only a deterrent to protect their country from invasion by larger neighbors.
—"Push for Nuclear-Free Middle East Resurfaces," Washington Post, 6 March 2005.

17 March 2005
An Israeli court charges Mordechai Vanunu with violating the terms of his release from jail last year. Israel's ministry has charged Vanunu with twenty-one counts of violating the restrictions. Vanunu was initially charged with disclosing secrets about the Israeli Dimona reactor and passing on classified information about the country's nuclear program.
--"Vanunu charged for media contacts," BBC, 22 March 2005.

April 2005
Jackie Wolcott Sanders, the American ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament and special representative of the President for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and Mark Fitzpatrick, another State Department official, indirectly call Israel a nuclear power by suggesting that it start planning on canceling its nuclear weapons programs. "The United States continues to support the goals of the Middle East resolution adopted at the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference, including the achievement of a Middle East Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction," said Jackie Wolcott Sanders.
--Angelique van Engelen, "Israel Termed A 'Nuclear Power' By US Officials," Journal of Turkish Weekly, 11 April 2005.

7 April 2005
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter states that the United States fails to acknowledge how Israel's nuclear program encourages countries such as Syria, Iran, and Egypt to pursue nuclear weapons.
--"Saving Non-Proliferation," Windsor Star, 7 April 2005.

8 April 2005
American Federal Prosecutors investigating nuclear technology smuggling reveal that Asher Karni, a Hungarian-born Israeli businessman who lives in South Africa, pleaded guilty to such charges last September and has been cooperating with investigators. Mr. Karni was arrested on New Year's Day 2004 for selling triggered spark gaps and violating the Export Administration Act. Triggered spark gaps are dual-use items. One use is in hospital protocol to power lithotripters. When installed into an enriched uranium casing, however, a triggered spark gap can ignite a nuclear explosion. Karni was the seller of about 200 of these devices to Humayun Khan, an Islamabad businessman from Pakistan.
--Mark Schapiro, "The Middleman: A Special Investigation," Mother Jones, 30 March 2005; "U.S. Says Banned Technology Went to Pakistan and India," New York Times, 9 April 2005.

12 April 2005
Prior to the opening of his trial in Jerusalem, Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu tells reporters that Israel possesses 200 atomic neutron and hydrogen bombs and produces 40 kilograms of plutonium each year. Mr. Vanunu says charges brought against him by Yehiel Horev, head of security for the Ministry of Defense, proves his statements about Israel's nuclear program are true.
--Dan Izenberg, "Vanunu: Israel has 200 Nuclear Bombs," Jerusalem Post, 13 April 2005.

19 April 2005
Israeli ministry spokesman Gilan Heiman states that Mordechai Vanunu cannot leave Israel before 19 April 2006. His travel ban has been extended for another year because he still poses a security threat to national security.
--"Israel extends Vanunu travel ban," BBC, 19 April 2005.

22 April 2005
Israel's interior minister, Ofir Pines-Paz, extends Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu's travel ban for another year.
--"Vanunu Travel Ban Extended," Manchester Guardian Weekly, 22 April 2005, Vol. 172, No.18, pg. 11.

3 May 2005
At the 7^th U.N. Nuclear Disarmament Conference, the United Arab Emirates calls on the international community and specifically Israel to take all necessary steps to completely dismantle its nuclear programs to create a nuclear free world. U.A.E. Permanent Ambassador to the UN, Abdul Aziz bin Nasir Al Shasmi, indicates several nuclear states continue to develop their nuclear programs under the auspice of deterrent security measures.
--"UAE Calls for a Nuclear-Free World," Bahrain News Agency, 4 May 2005.

17 May 2005
Palestinian public health minister, Zhodi el-Wiheidi accuses Israel of burying 80 tons of nuclear and chemical trash near Nablus in the West Bank.
--"Israel Accused of Burying Nuclear Trash Near Territories," Xinhua, 17 May 2005.

25 May 2005
Israeli whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu tells author Dr. Yo'el Cohen that "Today Israel evidently has about 200 warheads... I have also revealed new information on a hydrogen bomb and a neutron bomb. The Israeli public may support the possession of a simple nuclear bomb, but it does not support the possession of a hydrogen bomb." [Passage omitted on hydrogen bomb's qualities]
--"Israel: Nuclear 'Whistleblower' Vanunu Says Israel Has Hydrogen, Neutron Bomb," Hatzofe, 25 May 2005, in FBIS Document GMP20050531614088.

28 May 2005
Egypt's request that Israel be sanctioned for not signing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and possessing nuclear weapons is rejected at the NPT review conference in New York.
--"Nations Unable to Agree on New Steps Against Nuclear Proliferation," Financial Times, 28 May 2005.

2 June 2005
A recently declassified U.S. national intelligence assessment from 1961 indicates that Washington knew Israel was pursuing a nuclear weapons path. The document estimated Israel would be capable of producing a nuclear bomb by 1965-66 and had the capability to deliver the weapon to a range of 550 miles (~885km) via a bomber.
--Avner Cohen, "U.S. Knew About Nuke Plans," Yediot Aharonot, 2 June 2005.

9 June 2005
Reports indicate nuclear secrets for the reactor in Dimona were stolen as part of business espionage. Since May of 2005, several arrests have been made during an investigation where a Trojan Horse program was used to steal business secrets from rival companies. Water company Gal-Al says technical information describing how to produce and separate heavy water in a nuclear reactor was stolen. Israeli police have found files on computer servers in England and Germany which "could be used to help produce a hydrogen bomb," says Gal-Al CEO Baruch Zisser.
-- Buki Na'ed and Dudi Nissim, "Nuke Secrets May Have Been Stolen," Yediot Aharonot, 9 June 2005; "Israeli Nuclear Secret Caught Up in Computer Hacking Scandal," Agence France Presse, 9 June 2005; Avi Cohen, "Scandal Shocks Business World," Yediot Aharonot, 29 May 2005.

9 June 2005
Israeli investigators are looking into the possible theft of instructions on the production of heavy water stolen from Gal-Al, an Israeli water company. This "Trojan Horse" investigation is now expanding beyond Israel into the United States and the United Kingdom.
-- "Israeli Police Look into Possible Theft of Heavy Water Production Information," Global Security Newswire, 9 June 2005.

10 June 2005
In response to accusations by the director general of Gal-Al company that secret nuclear information had been stolen from the company, the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) announces, "The Gal-Al company has not been involved in any nuclear reactor project and no classified information is held by this company. A quick and exhaustive check indicated that nothing of the sort has ever occurred. The check revealed that the only contact with this company was the purchase of a filter for a water-cooler system located at the nuclear reactor's offices."
-- "Israeli Watchdog Denies Water Company Held Secret Data on Nuclear Reactor," Financial Times, 10 June 2005.

13 June 2005
At the same time the International Atomic Energy Agency requests to perform inspections in Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian Council of Ministers replies that "Israel must sign the NPT and all its nuclear facilities must be subject to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency and this must be made a basic condition for any future security arrangement."
-- "Saudis Demand Israel Sign NPT, Call Seen as an Attempt to Deflect IAEA Pressure," Jerusalem Post, 15 June 2005; "UPI Hears...," United Press International, 15 June 2005.

16 June 2005
Israeli Professor Avner Cohen provides several revelations about the origins of the Israeli nuclear program in his new book, The Last Taboo. He identifies Professor Yisra'el Dostrovsky as the man responsible for the creation of the structure of Israel's nuclear program and as the "first chief nuclear commissioner." Cohen cites the structure of the program as being based on the "dual subjectivity principle," as Dostrovsky and his successors have served as both Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) director general under the Israeli prime minister and as chief of the Practical Science Administration under the Israeli defense department. According to Cohen, this affords them a "double personal mandate."
-- "Author Avner Cohen Warned Following New Disclosures on Israeli Nuclear Program," Yedi'ot Aharonot, 17 June 2005; in FBIS Document GMP20050617616015.

8 July 2005
According to the Islamic Republic News Agency of Iran, the G8 leaders in Gleneagles, Scotland are indirectly pushing for Israel to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. A G8 statement reads, "We call on all states not party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...to accede without delay."
-- "G8 Urge Israel to Sign NPT 'Immediately'," IRNA, 8 July 2005.

August 2005
Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the Israeli Knesset Foreign and Defense Committee, tells interviewers that “once it will be clear that Israel . . . [is] secured . . . then Israel will be ready to discuss an arms control regime or arrangement in the Middle East.”  Israeli officials maintain that they will keep a nuclear deterrent until there is a guarantee of peace in the region, and are unwilling to compromise it in international negotiations.
— Miles Pomper, “Israeli Officials See Few Prospects for Arms Control,” Arms Control Today, August 2005.

3 August 2005
Documents from the British National Archive reveal that Britain sold heavy water [necessary for the production of plutonium] to Israel in 1959 and 1960, providing a substantial push for the Israeli nuclear program at Dimona.  The United States had previously refused the same sale.  In 1956 Britain purchased 20 tons of heavy water from Norway.  Noratom, a Norwegian company, was then formed to purchase the heavy water and ship it to Israel.  The heavy water came in two-10 ton shipments, the first in June 1959 and the second in 1960.  The export license was through Norway, yet the shipments were shipped from a British port on Israeli ships.  British officials never asked for an Israeli guarantee that the heavy water was intended for peaceful purposes.  In 1961, Israel approached Britain again for five tons of heavy water and was refused.
— Michael Crick, “How Britain Helped Israel Get the Bomb,” BBC, 3 August 2005; Ben Fenton, “Britain Secretly Sent Vital Nuclear Bomb Ingredient to Israel,” Daily Telegraph, 4 August 2005.

5 August 2005
Asher Karni, an Israeli businessman living in South Africa and apprehended while vacationing in Colorado, is sentenced by a U.S. federal judge to three years in prison for the sale of U.S. origin dual-use components to companies in Pakistan and India.  This includes the sale of 200 triggered spark gaps [note: triggered spark gaps can be utilized as triggers for nuclear weapons]. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay I. Bratt, Karni made at least 17 of these illegal transactions.  Karni and his partner, Humayun Khan, had prior knowledge that the U.S. forbids the sale of triggered spark gaps to Pakistan and India because of their dual-use capability and therefore attempted to conceal the final recipient of the goods.  The Pakistani government denies purchasing any illegal components for their nuclear program. 
— Josh Meyer, “Man Gets 3 Years for Sales Linked to Nuclear Arms,” Los Angeles Times, 5 August 2005; Josh Meyer, “Case Reveals Nuts and Bolts of Nuclear Network, Officials Say,” Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2004.

26 August 2005
Tzvi Kamil, the chairman of the Committee for Nuclear Safety, in a first interview, comments on Israel's nuclear reactor safety standards and radioactive waste control. The Committee for Nuclear Safety (CNS) is one of Israel's most secretive bodies, acting only in an advisory capacity to the Prime Minister. It acts as the watchdog for the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC), which runs Israel's two reactors.
--"Israeli Nuclear Official Comments on Reactors' Safety, Radioactive Waste Control," Ha'aretz, 26 August 2005, in FBIS Document GMP20050826618002.

2 October 2005
The IAEA at its recently concluded General Conference approves a draft submitted by Egypt calling to subject all nuclear installations in the Middle East to the system of IAEA guarantees and to establish an area free of nuclear weapons. The Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, highlighting the dangers of the Israeli nuclear capability and the challenges facing the NPT, pushed for the international community and the IAEA to assume their responsibilities and start taking practical and serious steps to implement decisions and avoid the policies of double standards in dealing with certain states.
--"Egypt Urges Nuclear Weapons-Free MidEast at IAEA Session," BBC, 2 October 2005.

3 October 2005
A resolution passes unanimously at the general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency which calls for a nuclear weapon-free zone in the Middle East.
--"IAEA Calls for Nuclear Weapon-Free Middle East," Global Security Newswire, 3 October 2005.

16 November 2005
Previously secret papers from Richard Nixon's presidency, released by the National Archives show U.S. alarm over Israeli nuclear capability in the late 1960s. A 1969 memo reporting intelligence findings by then assistant secretary of state, Joseph J. Sisco to Secretary of State William Rogers reveals Israel's rapidly developing capability to produce and deploy nuclear weapons, despite promises it would not introduce nuclear arms to the region.
--Cal Woodward, "Nixon papers show U.S. alarm over Israel's nuclear program," Associated Press, 16 November 2005.

December 2005
Two recently aired documentaries indicate that Britain was instrumental in supplying Israel with heavy water for nuclear reactors in 1959. One documentary, aired by BBC Newsnight, suggests that Britain knew that the final destination of the 20 tons of heavy water it sold to Norway was Israel, and that it was to be part of a nuclear weapons program. A second documentary, aired in Norway by Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), cites documents declassified by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating that Norway also suspected that the Israeli purchase of heavy water was meant for the purpose of starting a nuclear weapons program.
--Robinson Freytag, "Film Sheds Light on How Israel got Heavy Water from Norway," Jerusalem Post, 7 December 2005; "UK Role in Israel's Nuclear Program Seen as 'Double Standard,'" BBC, 12 December 2005.

1 December 2005
Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli nuclear whistleblower, speaks with Iranian press about Israel's nuclear weapons program. According to Vanunu, in 1986 Israel had an arsenal of more than 200 nuclear bombs. Vanunu also states that "in 1986 the Israelis began producing...the hydrogen bomb." Vanunu goes on to say that "[Israel] was capable of producing 40 kilograms of plutonium a year. That is a quantity sufficient for manufacturing 10 nuclear bombs. That means that from 1986 until now it could have built 200 more warheads."
--"Iranian radio interviews Israeli Nuclear Whistleblower Vanunu," BBC, 2 December 2005.

4 December 2005
Germany approves the sale of two Dolphin-class submarines to Israel. The two submarines, which will be added to a fleet of three similar-class submarines, will have improved capabilities that will allow them to remain submerged for weeks at a time. The Dolphin-class submarine is also equipped with torpedo tubes reportedly capable of launching cruise missiles carrying nuclear warheads, which would strengthen Israel's second-strike capability. The new submarines will likely be delivered sometime in the next decade.
--Efraim Inbar, "Deterring the Iranian Nuclear Threat," Jerusalem Post, 4 December 2005.

7 December 2005
Israel agrees to participate in the U.S. National Nuclear Security Agency's (NNSA) Megaports Initiative which installs radiation detection equipment and trains law enforcement officials at seaports throughout the world. Israel's Foreign Ministry Director General "Ron Prosor" said of the project, "This initiative provides an important defensive element to protect Israeli ports and ensures that exports from Israel to the U.S. are screened to prevent the threat of radiological terror. I know that our joint efforts under this project will directly contribute to our mutual nonproliferation objectives and to the safety and security of our two nations and the global maritime system."
--"US Israel Sign Deal to Help End Smuggling of Nuclear Material," Jerusalem Post, 8 December 2005.

	Updated November 2006