Iran, Arabs want UN action over Israeli nuclear weapons
EGYPT: Iran and Arab states seized on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's
statement implying that Israel has nuclear weapons, calling it proof of
a regional threat and demanding UN action.
On Monday Olmert appeared to admit - in breach of the Jewish state's
decades-long policy of ambiguity - that Israel possessed such weapons.
Iran called his comments a confession and demanded action from the
United Nations.
"This confession shows the real threat to security and stability in
the Middle East, and it shows this regime's evil plans to carry out
threats, a terror strategy and continued occupation," foreign ministry
spokesman Mohammed Ali Hosseini said.
"It is extremely necessary to adopt fast and efficient solutions on
the UN Security Council and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference
and other regional organisations to combat these clear threats," he
said.
Israel, which Iran does not recognise, is Tehran's arch-foe. It has
repeatedly called for UN action over Iran's nuclear programme and
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's anti-Israel comments.
The Arab League urged the international community and the Security
Council to exert pressure on Israel "to open its nuclear facilities in a
transparent manner."
"It is essential that Israel comply with international resolutions,"
Mohammed Sobeih, the assistant secretary general in charge of
Palestinian affairs, told reporters in Cairo. The 22-member body called
on "all states which offered assistance to Israel, particularly on the
issues of uranium and heavy water, to speak out without delay," he said.
"Everyone knows that Israel possesses weapons of mass destruction
which could reach as far as 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles), and all Arab
capitals are within this range," Sobeih added.
Egypt's opposition Muslim Brothers, who control a fifth of
parliament, reacted angrily and demanded an urgent parliament session
attended by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif to discuss the issue.
Israel's nuclear arsenal "is a danger to Egypt's national security
and can turn the entire region into a volcano," Hussein Mohammed, deputy
head of the Islamist movement's parliamentary group, said in a
statement.
On Tuesday the Gulf Cooperation Council - grouping Bahrain, Kuwait,
Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - demanded that
sanctions be imposed on Israel.
GCC Secretary General Abderrahman al-Attiya called on the United
States not to apply a policy of "double standards" and to "work for the
application (against Israel) of the resolutions of international
legitimacy and of Chapter VII."
Chapter VII of the UN charter deals with action the Security Council
might take regarding threats to the peace, breaches of the peace and
acts of aggression.
As a first step, it says the council may call for member states to
impose sanctions, including complete or partial interruption of economic
relations and the severance of diplomatic relations.
If such measures fail, military action can be called for.
In a Monday interview with German television, Olmert listed Israel as
a country with nuclear weapons.
"We never threatened any nation with annihilation," he said.
"Iran openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off
the map. Can you say that this is the same level, when they are aspiring
to have nuclear weapons, as France, America, Russia and Israel?" he
asked.
Olmert's spokeswoman Miri Eisin was quick to deny that the premier
admitted Israel had nuclear weapons, saying "Israel will not be the
first country to introduce nuclear weapons to the region."
Cairo, Thursday, AFP |