Israel urged to destroy nuclear arms Vienna November 28, 2003
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, wants Israel to dismantle its nuclear weapons arsenal and believes all Middle East nations would benefit from ridding the region of nuclear weapons.
Israel has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has never officially admitted to having nuclear weapons. Non-proliferation analysts estimate that Israel has up to 200 such weapons.
Asked about a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom last week, Dr ElBaradei hinted that Israel should sign the treaty - the global pact designed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.
"We obviously discussed . . . efforts to try to move forward towards application of safeguards (on) all nuclear activities in the Middle East, including in Israel," he said on Wednesday.
The United Nations General Assembly and IAEA General Conference have adopted 13 resolutions since 1987 appealing to Israel to sign the treaty. All have been ignored.
"In my view, every country in the Middle East, including Israel, will benefit from establishing a nuclear weapon-free zone in the Middle East as part and parcel of a comprehensive peace in the region," Dr ElBaradei said.
Iran is the only other Middle Eastern country suspected of developing nuclear weapons.
