---
category: Nuclear Scientists & Programs
summary: Ian Smart was a young British diplomat who served as third secretary of the
  British embassy in Tel Aviv in the late 1950s.
tags:
- Person
- Nuclear
- Israel
---

Ian Smart was a young British diplomat who served as third secretary of the British embassy in [Tel Aviv](/places/tel-aviv/) in the late 1950s. He later became an international expert in nonproliferation. During his time in [Israel](/places/israel/), he became curious and suspicious about the activities at [Dimona](/places/dimona/). By the end of 1960, he was reporting his "suspicion" that the site looked like a nuclear reactor, prompted by its visible progress and the palpable French presence in [Beersheba](/places/beersheba/).[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 5.