- Arab states have accused the United Nations nuclear watchdog
of holding back from criticising Israel.
-
- Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia said the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was ignoring Israel's alleged weapons of mass
destruction.
-
- At the same time, they said, the agency was putting pressure
on other countries to give up their nuclear programmes.
-
- The IAEA is urging Iran to prove that its nuclear power
plants are not being used to develop weapons-grade material.
-
- North Korea was in a similar position until it withdrew
from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is designed to prevent
the spread of nuclear weapons.
-
- Israel, unlike Iran and North Korea, has not signed the
NPT. The Jewish state has never confirmed being a nuclear power, but is
widely believed to possess nuclear weapons.
-
- 'Unacceptable'
-
- Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Saudi Arabian Foreign
Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said: "What surprises us is that at
a time when the International Atomic Energy Agency is intensifying its
efforts and monitoring (NPT) member countries... we see that it continues
to ignore the rejection of Israel in not joining the treaty.
-
- "This constitutes a serious threat to the security
and stability of the whole region."
-
- Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said: "It
is unacceptable that Israel's possession of such weapons should remain
a reality that some prefer to ignore or prevent the international community...
from facing it squarely and frankly."
-
- Syria, which has been accused by the United States of
developing chemical and biological weapons, hit back at Washington.
-
- "A lot has been said lately about the dangers of
the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by countries that already
have different types of such weapons," said Foreign Minister Farouk
al-Sharaa.
-
- In a reference to the US-led war in Iraq, he said: "Some
have even waged war under the pretext of eliminating these weapons."
-
- Mr Sharaa added that it was "regrettable... that
some quarters selectively choose to level their false accusations at some
Arab and Islamic states but not on others, while simultaneously ignoring
the Israeli arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear,
chemical and biological weapons".
-
- Tehran defiant
-
- Under US pressure, the IAEA has given Iran until 31 October
to prove it does not plan to develop nuclear weapons.
-
- Europe and Russia have also increased pressure on Tehran
to meet the deadline.
-
- But Iran - which insists its nuclear programme is entirely
peaceful - has said it will limit IAEA inspectors' access to declared nuclear
sites when they arrive this week.
-
- Tuesday saw the head of the IAEA, Mohammad ElBaradei,
say that this was not good enough.
-
- "If we cannot have full co-operation, full disclosure,
unfortunately I'll have to say that I am not able to verify the Iranian
statements."
-
- The US is also leading efforts to persuade North Korea
to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.
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- © BBC MMIII
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3151552.stm
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