Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat said his country "can manage it" if Saudi Arabia had nuclear power for peaceful means. Israel itself is widely believed to have nuclear weapons, but it neither confirms nor denies that this is the case. Rosemary Kelanic, the director of the Middle East programme at the US-based Defense Priorities think tank, said it would be "quite shocking" if the US were to allow Saudi Arabia uranium enrichment facilities. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rebuffed concerns that it could advance Saudi Arabia's ability to develop nuclear arms. Several Democrats opposed to the deal pointed out that, during his time as a senator, Rubio had endorsed a law - the "No Nuclear Weapons for Saudi Arabia Act" - which required Congressional approval of any nuclear deal.