Jerusalem, September 17: Israel’s defense minister says the Mideast is too unruly for a region-wide nuclear arms ban.
Ehud Barak also says Iran’s nuclear program is a threat to world peace. His comments come ahead of a U.S.-sponsored world meeting later this month to discourage nuclear proliferation.
Israel believes Iran is working to attain nuclear weapons — a charge Tehran denies. Israel is widely assumed to have a nuclear arsenal, although it refuses to confirm or deny it.
Barak’s comments were published Thursday in the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot.
Asked if Israel would sign on to a treaty for a nuclear-free Mideast, Barak said that “until the Muslim world from Marakesh to Bangladesh behaves like Western Europe, there can be no debate on nuclear disarmament.”
—Agencies