Is a Nuclear-Free Middle East a Pipe Dream?


When the General Assembly of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a resolution on Sept. 17 calling on Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and open its nuclear facilities to international inspection, Israeli officials pushed back. The resolution "is only aiming at reinforcing political hostilities and lines of division in the Middle East region," Israeli delegate David Danieli told the U.N. body. And he had a point: Israel is one of only three countries in the world that have yet to join the treaty, but the other two, India and Pakistan, weren't mentioned in the resolution — even though their conflict makes them more likely to be involved in a nuclear exchange than Israel is. Then there was the fact that the authors of the resolution were Arab countries that don't recognize Israel — and the fact that Iran's ambassador crowed that the vote was a triumph for the Palestinians.