An Arab resolution expressing concern about Israel's nuclear weapons was narrowly passed at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Friday, in a vote exposing a rift between developing and industrialised countries. It was the first time that the IAEA general conference has adopted such a decision since 1991. Iran's Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh said the successful vote was "a triumph, a glorious moment."
The text, sponsored by Arab countries, was adopted with the votes of 49 mostly developing states, against the opposition of 45 countries including European Union members and the United States. Of the permanent UN Security Council members, China and Russia backed the document that "expresses concern about the Israeli nuclear capabilities."
It also called on Israel to accede to the Nuclear Non- proliferation Treaty (NPT) and to put its entire nuclear programme under IAEA inspections, steps that would effectively force the country to give up its atomic weapons. Israel's delegate David Danieli said his country would not cooperate with this resolution. "Singling out the state of Israel is counterproductive to confidence-building and peace in the region," the Israeli nuclear energy official said.
Danieli reiterated Israel's stance that a peace settlement in the Middle East should come before regional disarmament efforts. The adoption of the resolution was "hypocrisy," the official said, because it was backed by Iran and Syria, who are under investigation by the IAEA. Israel's government is believed to have atomic weapons, but it neither confirms nor denies its military nuclear capacity as a matter of policy.
Israel is the only country in the region that is not a signatory to the NPT and therefore accepts only limited IAEA inspections. "The international community and the majority of (IAEA) member states cannot tolerate the status quo any more," Soltanieh said. Western countries had opposed the document, arguing that after Thursday's resolution calling for a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction was adopted, there was no need for a separate one on Israel.