UN's Arab Group calls for denuclearizing Mideast

Egypt declines to sign new disarmament deals, says ignoring Israel's nukes won't bring Iran to give up its program

UN warns of putting nuclear disarmament on back burner

Israel shrugs off U.S. call to join NPT

The UAE has underscored the importance of reaffirming the rejection of any attempt to the transfer, production and piling of nuclear weapons, especially in nuclear-free regions such as the Arabian Gulf region.

The call was made in a statement by Hamad Al Ka’abi, UAE Permanent Representative to the IAEA, when he addressed the third meeting of Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference being held at the UN headquarters.

Al Ka’abi referred to the UAE policy on the evaluation and implementation of a peaceful nuclear energy program to meet its future energy demands, emphasizing that the UAE program is based on principles of complete operational transparency, highest standards of safety, security and non-proliferation, and being carried out with direct cooperation with the IAEA and responsible experienced nations.

“The UAE has taken concrete steps to implement this policy, such as the signing and ratifying of a number of relevant international instruments, the latest of which was signing of the additional protocol to the Safeguards Agreement, and the UAE is progressing in the development of an infrastructure that ensures the utilization of nuclear energy without increasing the risk of nuclear proliferation as enshrined in its commitments to forgo enrichment and fuel reprocessing.”

The address highlighted the UAE position on important issues being discussed as part of the meeting’s agenda, noting despite the lapse of four decades since the announcement of the NPT regime, progress in achieving the goal of the treaty has been very slow, and sometimes it is going in the wrong direction.

This is as a result of the continuing race among states to develop new nuclear weapons capabilities and transfer systems as part of their policies of nuclear deterrence, in addition to attempts of some non-nuclear states to seek and develop nuclear weapons as means of defending themselves.

“Such issue does not only raise our security fears of the escalation of threats resulting from the presence of these weapons, but also raises fear of these weapons reaching irresponsible parties and organizations, which may lead to a nuclear tragedy endangering regional and international peace and security,” he stated.

He noted that concerns were expressed regarding international negligence of the commitments pledged at the 1995 review and extension conference of the parties to the NPT, and the NPT review conference in 2000, of which the most urgent is the compliance with the resolution on the establishment of a nuclear weapon-free zone in the Middle East.

“The UAE called upon the international community, especially the nuclear weapon states, to show the political will and enough flexibility in order to assist in the success of the current thematic debate within the frame of this preparatory session,” he said.

“The UAE called for the importance of reaffirming the international community rejection of any attempts aiming to the transfer, the production and the piling of nuclear weapons, especially in the non-nuclear weapon regions such as the Arabian Gulf region and the neighboring regions, demanding all states seeking to develop nuclear weapons and produce and pile fissile material for nuclear weapons, to rethink their policies that threaten regional and international peace and security, and take all immediate measures to ensure the halt of these attempts in compliance with the treaty and the principles of the international law and relevant resolutions,” he explained.

Al Ka’abi concluded by stressing the importance of dealing with present nuclear threats and the implementation of NPT regime in a manner based on the principles of justice, transparency and equality which will ensure the universality of the treaty and achieve the goals of saving the world from the possibilities of any nuclear confrontation or disaster, which will contribute to enabling the upcoming review conference to take effective measures that will strengthen the global commitment towards nuclear non-proliferation.

In Cairo, Egypt has warned Western countries that their nuclear policies, which include pressuring Iran to give up its nuclear program, will fail as long as they ignore Israeli nuclear capabilities.

The Jerusalem Post quoted Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson as saying that Israel is "the first and greatest threat to security in the region".

Israel, however, categorically rejected that classification as "completely out of line."

"If he can quote at least one occasion in which Israel has threatened any of its neighbors with the alleged nuclear weapon, then his statements would gain him credibility. Unless he produces evidence to support his claims, these kinds of remarks are completely out of line," Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yigal Palmor said.

Egypt called on the international community to justly and indiscriminately apply the Non-Proliferation Treaty that requires states to comply with its provisions, and asked it to refrain from the adoption of double standards in pressuring states to abandon their programs.

"Cairo sought to realize the aims of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to guarantee the security of all states, whereas possession of nuclear weapons by some countries disrupted the balance of power and encouraged other nations to address this imbalance by seeking to acquire nuclear weapons," spokesman Hossam Zaki, in a declaration of the foreign ministry, said.

An Egyptian official told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that Cairo would prefer that Israel pursue diplomacy, rather than a military option, to address Iran's nuclear program.

Also on Sunday, President Hosni Mubarak with his Philippine counterpart Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said Egypt opposed any proliferation in the region and that efforts aimed at shedding light on the Iranian nuclear program must be accompanied by parallel efforts to deal with the Israeli program.

Tensions between Egypt and Iran have been particularly tense recently, with Cairo accusing a 49-member terrorist cell with links to Hezbollah of plotting to carry out attacks in the country.

Egypt said on Thursday media reports that U.N. nuclear inspectors found traces of highly enriched uranium at an Egyptian reactor complex addressed an old issue that had already been resolved.

A restricted International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report, obtained by Reuters on Wednesday, said the inspectors found the traces but did not specify if they were weapons-grade -- enriched to a high-enough level to make a bomb.

Diplomats said the traces were not enriched to that grade but their fissile concentration was higher than the level normally suited to fuelling civilian nuclear power stations.

The report said Egypt had explained to the IAEA that it believed the highly enriched uranium (HEU) "could have been brought into the country through contaminated radio-isotope transport containers." Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said in a statement the media reports were "mistaken and old" and led to questions about the motivations behind such a leak.

"Egypt previously explained to the agency the circumstances of this issue and the officials in the agency agreed with the Egyptian explanation," he said, adding that the IAEA had always affirmed Egypt's nuclear plans were peaceful.

He said the issue had been first raised in 2007.

The report, dated May 5 this year, said HEU was discovered alongside particles of low-enriched uranium, the type used for nuclear power plant fuel, at Inshas, near Cairo, where there is a research reactor complex.

The report said the U.N. watchdog's inspectors had not yet determined the source of the particles, and more testing in the area was planned to draw conclusions, but the IAEA had no indication Egypt's clarification was not correct.

The report said Egypt in 2004-06 turned over information to the IAEA about previously undeclared nuclear activity and submitted design information about the Inshas facility.

The IAEA is sensitive to possible nuclear proliferation in the Middle East because of inquiries into allegations of weapons-related nuclear activity in Iran and Syria, which both countries deny. Israel, Egypt's neighbor, is the only Middle East state believed to have nuclear weapons.

An IAEA spokesman declined comment, saying the report was solely for the eyes of the agency's 35-nation governing board which next convenes in June.

A diplomat familiar with IAEA inspections work said it was "not that unusual for the Agency to find traces of nuclear material in environmental samples at nuclear sites in a country. As needed, these are followed up by Department of Safeguards."

Nuclear weapons remain a threat to international security, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a session on nuclear non-proliferation in New York.

The international community convened for the Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty.

The committee met to consider the articles of the NPT and to weigh considerations for the review conference.

Ban expressed concern over the threat posed by nuclear weapons, saying the international community was lulled into a sense of complacency following the end of the Cold War.

"Nuclear weapons remain an apocalyptic threat," he said. "We cannot afford to place disarmament and non-proliferation on a back burner."

On Iran, the secretary-general called on the leaders in Tehran to continue their cooperation with the nuclear regulatory regime in order to confirm the Iranian nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

The latest reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency said the intent of the Iranian nuclear program remains ambiguous despite years of monitoring.

Concerning the North Korean nuclear program, Ban said he was optimistic multilateral talks would prove the best option for denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.

Ban called on all parties to strengthen the nuclear regulatory regime, praising Washington's efforts to move forward with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

"If you can set us on a course toward achieving a nuclear-weapon-free world," Ban urged the delegates, "you will send a message of hope to the world."

On the other hand, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said U.S. President Barack Obama plans to act firmly and decisively in order to reach durable peace.

Emanuel made the statements on Sunday night in a closed forum attended by 300 of the biggest donors of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The event was held as part of the pro-Israel's lobby annual conference in Washington.

He reiterated that the ability to confront Iran depended on the ability to make progress on the Palestinian front. Solving the conflict will make it possible to advance the handling of the main threat posed by Iran, he said.

This president is going to act firmly and decisively to achieve durable peace, he said, adding that this was the moment of truth in the process. This is Israel's moment of truth and the Palestinians' moment of truth and the moment of truth of all the region's nations, he said.

The White House chief of staff clarified that the foundation for an agreement between the two sides must be security for Israel and a sovereign state for the Palestinians. The US is committed to the two-state process, he said, adding that this was the only solutions.

All sides must meet their commitments, as difficult as they may be, he noted.

Emanuel reiterated America's deep commitment to Israel, saying that Israel and the US were strategic allies, regardless of the identity of the governments serving in each country.

The US is Israel's ally and will guarantee its security under all circumstances, he promised.

The son of an Israeli who is a former Irgun (National Military Organization) fighter, Rahm Emanuel is today one of the strongest men in the White House after President Obama.

Emanuel explained Obama's determination to pressure the sides to reach a peace agreement by the fact that when there was no progress in the process there was an intifada, an escalation in Lebanon and an escalation in the Gaza Strip.

When there is no peace, he said, it benefits those who are against Israel. If Israel fails to make peace with its neighbors there will be those who will favor violence, he stated.

Emanuel went on to speak of the problems on the Israeli side – the settlement and outpost issue – without elaborating on what Israel was required to do. He also clarified that Arab countries would have to move forward towards Israel. Each side will have to meet its commitments, he said.

US President Barack Obama held his first summit with his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres, as the US urged Israel to accept a two-state solution amid a new US push for Middle East peace.

Obama, who has made the Middle East one of the top priorities of his administration, has invited new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to Washington for talks in the coming weeks.

And in some of the most forceful language yet by the new administration, Vice President Joe Biden laid out Tuesday what Washington expects from its partners in the search for an elusive peace deal as Obama and Peres met.

"Israel's security is non-negotiable. Period," Biden told the annual conference of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which calls itself the most influential foreign policy lobby in Washington.

"But Israel has to work toward a two-state solution," Biden told the 6,500 delegates.

"You're not going to like my saying this but (do) not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts and allow Palestinians freedom of movement," Biden told the audience, which nonetheless applauded him.

The US vice president also urged Arab states to start moving toward ending Israel's isolation.

"Now is the time for Arab states to make meaningful gestures to show the Israeli leadership and the people the promise of ending Israel's isolation in the region is real and genuine," Biden said.

Tuesday's White House talks were the first summit between the close allies since Benjamin Netanyahu was elected Israel's premier, and Obama took over in January as US president.

Netanyahu has so far refused to publicly endorse the creation of a Palestinian state, and has insisted on focusing efforts on strengthening the West Bank economy before engaging in negotiations on a final status agreement.

Peres said after the talks that Netanyahu had signed up to the commitments of the US-backed "road-map" when asked by reporters about the new Israeli administration's failure to so far endorse a two-state solution.

"Mr. Netanyahu said he will abide by the commitments of the previous government," Peres said after the closed-door meeting.

"The previous government accepted the road map -- in the roadmap you will find the attitude to the two state solution."

A White House statement after the talks said the two had talked about "the opportunities and challenges including the pursuit of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East and Iran's nuclear program, that the present moment presents to achieving our countries' shared goal of peace and security for Israel and all of it neighbors."

Senator John Kerry, a fellow Democrat who replaced Biden as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made more specific pleas to the Arab states when he addressed AIPAC.

He urged Arab states to start "treating Israel like a normal country, ending the boycott, letting El Al (airline) fly over their countries and meeting Israel leaders."

He said "lack of support from Arab states" was a key reason that the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks failed in 2000 and degenerated into years of violence.

But he said there was a shift in the region in which Arabs now embrace the idea of land for peace and are also arrayed against a growing threat from Iran.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Hamas must recognize Israel, renounce terror and abide by past deals with Israel if Washington is to encourage the Jewish state to hold talks with the Palestinian Islamist movement.

"Those (requirements) haven't changed," Gibbs told a press briefing.

A speech at a United Nations (UN) planning committee by a senior U.S. official has caused concern in Israel that the rift between the United States and Israel could, if anything, be widening. This time the United States wants Israel to come clean about its nuclear capabilities.

Speaking at the third session of the preparatory committee for the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller said her government expects Israel to join the NPT.

Universal adherence to the NPT itself -- including by India, Israel, Pakistan and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) -- also remains a fundamental objective of the United States, she said Tuesday during the gathering at UN headquarters in New York.

Gottemoeller's comments were taken by some in Israel as the latest sign that the Obama administration is adopting a hard-line stance when it comes to relations with Israel.

Traditionally, the two countries have enjoyed warm ties.

However, since Barack Obama became the U.S. President and Benjamin Netanyahu became Israeli Prime Minister earlier this year, there have been indications that the relationship has taken a turn for the worse.

Until now the apparent differences have been restricted to the usual calls for the dismantling of outposts in the West Bank and concerning the timing of talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Israel wants the Americans to first deal with the Iranian issue and then broker negotiations with the Palestinians, while Obama favors tackling the two tricky subjects in parallel.

However, the NPT issue goes far deeper. Israel has never formally admitted it has nuclear weapons, although there is a widespread belief internationally that the country does have such a military capability.

"Israel can't sign the treaty," said Israeli journalist Michael Karpin, who wrote The Bomb in the Basement: How Israel Went Nuclear and What That Means for the World. "If Israel signs the treaty, it needs to say it doesn't have nuclear weapons. That's not something it can do."

Karpin added that Gottemoeller's call was not the first time Washington has made such a request. To him it is just a matter of Washington being seen to make the call.

"The U.S. has never pressured Israel to do it, nor is that happening this time. Nothing practical will be done," he said.

One possibility that could be mooted, said Karpin, is for the U.S. and Israel to reach an agreement similar to that brokered by the Bush administration with India.

That agreement made American nuclear fuel and technology available to New Delhi. In return, India has to open to international inspection the nuclear sites where it produces electricity for civilian use.

While India, Israel, Pakistan and the DPRK all got a specific mention in Gottemoeller's speech, there was no direct reference to Iran -- rather a message clearly geared towards Tehran.

"We must redouble our efforts to update International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards technologies and convince those NPT parties that have not yet done so to bring into force the comprehensive IAEA safeguards agreements required by the Treaty's Article III...Consequences for those breaking the rules or withdrawing from the treaty without cause must also be addressed," she said.

Though the failure to mention Iran by name has upset some Israeli politicians and the country's media, regional analysts are less impressed.

"I don't really think Israel is surprised like people are saying," said Eldad J. Pardo of Hebrew University, an expert on Middle East strategy.

Israel realizes as Obama begins negotiating with Tehran he has to appear to be "creating the same rule for everyone," Pardo explained, adding that he does believe there is real pressure on Israel to sign the NPT at this time.

In the longer term though, Pardo felt there could be a time when Israel tells the world of its nuclear capabilities.

"Israel created its nuclear program at a time of disharmony in the world. If and when there is a regional peace between Israel and the Arab states in line with the Arab initiative, at that point Israel may admit to what it has been keeping secret all these years," he said.