ElBaradei wants nuke-free ME

2007-04-15 17:53

Amman - UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei called on Iran and Israel on Sunday to join a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, after talks in Jordan with King Abdullah II, the palace said.

"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.

"This is the last chance to build security in the Middle East based on trust and co-operation and not the possession of nuclear weapons," the International Atomic Energy Agency chief was quoted as saying.

ElBaradei said a peace deal between Israel and its Arab neighbours "must be reached in parallel with a security agreement in the region based on ridding the region of all weapons of mass destruction".

Israel is considered the sole, albeit undeclared, nuclear power in the region with an arsenal of about 200 warheads.

Its arch-foe, Iran, is suspected by the West of using a nuclear energy programme 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.

'Imbalance' in the nuclear capabilities

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 programmes to peaceful purposes".

He reiterated calls for Iran "to co-operate with us with sufficient transparency until we make sure that the Iranian programme is devoted to peaceful purposes."

"We have not seen that this programme is devoted to military purposes and we have not seen underground facilities," he said.

But he added: "There is fear over Iran's future intentions, not today but within the next five to 10 years.

"We still have plenty of time to solve this issue peacefully, the only way to solve the Iranian problem is through negotiations," ElBaradei said, dismissing a military option concerning Iran as "unrealistic and disastrous".

ElBaradei is in Jordan to discuss the country's desire to obtain nuclear energy to generate electricity and for other peaceful means.

Amman is the third leg of a tour that has taken him to Saudi Arabia and Oman.

- AFP