NPT conference calls for Mideast nuclear disarmament

The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty 189 member nations adopted a new plan to achieve nuclear disarmament which includes a move toward banning all nuclear weapons in the Middle East.

The 28-page agreement was approved by consensus after a month of discussions in New York which had convened to review and further the aims of the 40-year-old treaty.

The agreement calls for convening of a conference on 2012 “on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction.”

The agreement document calls on Israel as the only country in possession of nuclear arsenals to join the NPT.

Israel has never confirmed its possession of nuclear weapons. Reportedly, Tel Aviv made several unsuccessful behind-the scene efforts to keep its name out of the final session of the meeting.

The final document of the New York conference emphasizes the importance of “Israel’s accession to the NPT”, a move that would require Israel to destroy its nuclear warheads.

This is the first time that Israel is mentioned in the final declaration of the NPT meeting, a point that Arab and Islamic states consider as a triumph.

Iran welcomed the final declaration of the conference and called for “the inspection of all of Israel’s nuclear facilities and activities within the next two years by the International Atomic Energy Agency.”