(Ha'aretz) Yossi Melman - Just as Iran enters a decisive phase in its progress towards building a nuclear weapon, a bizarre reversal has put Israel's nuclear program at the top of the agenda as the UN begins a review of its global non-proliferation regime in New York on Monday. The West, led by the U.S., hopes to rein in proliferation by stiffening the IAEA's powers of inspection. They have in mind the dangerous precedent set by Iraq, Syria and Libya - all signatories to the non-proliferation treaty, yet all of whom ran clandestine nuclear programs under the noses of international inspectors. But the Egyptians plan to use the conference to call on Israel to sign the NPT, open its reactor at Dimona to international inspectors and join regional talks to declare the Middle East a "nuclear-free zone" - talks that would also involve Iran. Israel says it has no problem with the idea of a "nuclear-free" Middle East, provided the declaration comes as part of wider package of peace deals and security agreements to rid the region of weapons of mass destruction in all forms, including chemical and biological agents and the missiles that would deliver them.
2010-05-03 07:56:51Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive