MidEast should be free of nuclear weapons - IAEA head http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2007-04-15T231728Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-294312-1.xml&archived=False
Sun Apr 15, 2007
By Suleiman al-Khalidi
AMMAN (Reuters) - The Middle East, including Iran and Israel, should be free from nuclear weapons to ensure the future stability of the region, the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog said on Sunday.
Israel is widely believed to have the region's only nuclear arsenal -- around 200 bombs. The West suspects Iran's nuclear programme is a smokescreen for atomic weapons ambitions, a charge Tehran denies. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters after talks with King Abdullah in Amman, where he arrived on Saturday as part of a regional tour, it was crucial to rid the region of any atomic arsenal.
"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.
"This is the last chance to build a security system in the Middle East based on cooperation and trust and not the possession of nuclear weapons." He said there was still time for negotiations to resolve the confrontation between Iran and the West in which Tehran's refusal to heed U.N. demands to stop enriching uranium has prompted two rounds of sanctions since December. "We still have a lot of time to cooperate to resolve these problems by peaceful means. There is no way to resolve the problem and reach a solution except by negotiation," he said.
Asked why the West applied double standards by ignoring Israel's presumed atomic capability while protesting over Iran's work, ElBaradei hinted it was the Arabs' mistake by not insisting the Jewish state join the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
"There has been a mistake in dealing with this file for over five decades as Arab states joined the treaty while Israel did not and Arab states did not demand that Israel joins," he said.
"This has led to an imbalance with Israel owning a nuclear deterrent capability while all the Arab states have committed themselves to concentrate their programmes on peaceful purposes."
King Abdullah says his country, which is heavily dependent on imports for its energy needs, wants to acquire the technology under a plan to set up a nuclear reactor by 2015 for power generation and water desalination. Plans by Arab Gulf states, located in the world's top oil and gas exporting region, to set up a joint civil atomic programme have raised concerns in the West that Arab states may want to protect themselves if Iran acquires nuclear weapons.
ElBaradei said he backed the Arab states' quest to acquire nuclear technology to use in electricity and power generation, saying it was crucial to attain progress in their societies.
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