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El Baradei urges Israel, Iran to join nuclear-free Mideast |
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By Agence France Presse.
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LONDON -- UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei called on Iran and Israel to join a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, after talks in Jordan with King Abdullah II.
"At the end of the day the Middle East should be a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, a zone in which Israel and Iran are both members," ElBaradei said, according to a palace statement.
Israel is considered the sole, albeit undeclared, nuclear power in the region with an arsenal of around 200 warheads.
Its arch foe Iran is suspected by the West of using a nuclear energy program to try to develop atomic weapons, something Tehran vehemently denies.
ElBaradei also noted that "Arab countries have joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty while Israel hasn’t."
He said there was an "imbalance" in the nuclear capabilities of Israel and the Arab countries. Israel, he said, "has a nuclear deterrent force while all Arab countries have committed their programs to peaceful purposes."
He reiterated calls for Iran "to cooperate with us with sufficient transparency until we make sure that the Iranian program is devoted to peaceful purposes."
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