The Jordanian monarch urged the international community to pressure Israel to close down its nuclear facilities, in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais.
He justified the remarks by saying his nation wants to see a nuclear-free Middle East. “If there is peace, Israel will not need nuclear weapons,” he said. “If the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved, the Arab-Israeli conflict will also be resolved.”
The United Nations decided in February to issue a verdict statement that the Middle East should be a “nuclear weapons-free region” in its general statement policy on nuclear energy. The decision was reluctantly supported by the United States as a concession to Egypt, who insisted on inserting the clause.
Arab states have united in condemning Western pressure on Iran to dismantle its nuclear program, and Jordan is the latest to join the chorus. “If the world is demanding Iran’ doesn’t develop nuclear weapons, it should also demand that countries which possess nuclear weapons disarm,” he said. “For peace to be achieved in the region, Israel has to disarm its nuclear weapons.”
Meanwhile, a report by a military-civilian committee says that other Middle Eastern nations are likely to follow Iran and develop nuclear weapons of their own.
. The committee, which was appointed by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, was headed by former minister Dan Meridor and made several recommendations.
The first was that Israel should maintain its nuclear ambiguity.
The second that Jordan’s stability should be supported, inasmuch as Israel’s Western neighbor is strategically important.
The third recommendation was that the National Security Council should become the government’s central military planning authority.
Outgoing Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz praised the comprehensive report, which is largely top-secret, in an interview Monday on Army Radio. “For the first time since the days of the nation’s founding, an official document has been placed before the leaders of Israel, setting out a comprehensive security viewpoint, both current and long-range,” he said.
Israeli officials said Monday that they were not concerned by the U.N. decision and believed it would have no real impact. “This is not the first time such a reference appears,” said one government source. “The same thing happened when Libya decided to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Proliferation Treaty.”
He justified the remarks by saying his nation wants to see a nuclear-free Middle East. “If there is peace, Israel will not need nuclear weapons,” he said. “If the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved, the Arab-Israeli conflict will also be resolved.”
The United Nations decided in February to issue a verdict statement that the Middle East should be a “nuclear weapons-free region” in its general statement policy on nuclear energy. The decision was reluctantly supported by the United States as a concession to Egypt, who insisted on inserting the clause.
Arab states have united in condemning Western pressure on Iran to dismantle its nuclear program, and Jordan is the latest to join the chorus. “If the world is demanding Iran’ doesn’t develop nuclear weapons, it should also demand that countries which possess nuclear weapons disarm,” he said. “For peace to be achieved in the region, Israel has to disarm its nuclear weapons.”
Meanwhile, a report by a military-civilian committee says that other Middle Eastern nations are likely to follow Iran and develop nuclear weapons of their own.
. The committee, which was appointed by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, was headed by former minister Dan Meridor and made several recommendations.
The first was that Israel should maintain its nuclear ambiguity.
The second that Jordan’s stability should be supported, inasmuch as Israel’s Western neighbor is strategically important.
The third recommendation was that the National Security Council should become the government’s central military planning authority.
Outgoing Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz praised the comprehensive report, which is largely top-secret, in an interview Monday on Army Radio. “For the first time since the days of the nation’s founding, an official document has been placed before the leaders of Israel, setting out a comprehensive security viewpoint, both current and long-range,” he said.
Israeli officials said Monday that they were not concerned by the U.N. decision and believed it would have no real impact. “This is not the first time such a reference appears,” said one government source. “The same thing happened when Libya decided to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Proliferation Treaty.”