---
category: Nuclear Scientists & Programs
location: United States
start: 1953
summary: Atoms for Peace was Eisenhower's 1953 initiative to promote civilian nuclear
  energy by sharing technology and materials internationally, which inadvertently
  accelerated nuclear proliferation including Israel's Dimona program.
tags:
- Program
- Nuclear
- Diplomacy
---

Atoms for Peace was a program initiated by U.S. President [Dwight D. Eisenhower](/people/dwight-d-eisenhower/) in 1953. It aimed to promote the peaceful use of atomic energy and to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons by providing nuclear technology and materials to other nations under international safeguards. Under this program, the [United States](/places/united-states/) signed an agreement with [Israel](/places/israel/) in 1955 for cooperation in the civilian uses of atomic energy, helping to finance and fuel a small nuclear reactor for research at Nahal Soreq. This agreement included inspection rights for the [United States](/places/united-states/) to ensure that nuclear materials would not be diverted to weapons research.[^1]

[Lewis L. Strauss](/people/lewis-l-strauss/), then chairman of the [Atomic Energy Commission](/organizations/atomic-energy-commission/), was a proponent of the Atoms for Peace program.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 2, 7.