Israel has never admitted to having nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, few international specialists question the Jewish state's presence on the world's list of nuclear powers. So, why does it seem the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is only after Iran, and not Israel? Why doesn’t the UN nuclear agency investigate Israel’s nuclear activities? Israel’s nuclear capabilities are arguably the most secretive weapons of mass destruction program in the world.
Furthermore, unlike Iran and North Korea - two countries that were labeled by the U.S. President as being part of an “axis of evil” - Israel has never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, aimed at preventing the global spread of nuclear weapons. Consequently, it is not subject to inspections and the threat of sanctions by the United Nations nuclear watchdog.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday (Nov. 30), Iran's top nuclear official, Hassan Rowhani, praised the resolution passed by the UN nuclear watchdog on Monday authorizing IAEA chief ElBaradei to monitor the Islamic Republic’s commitment to freeze uranium enrichment activities. Such enrichment can produce either low grade fuel for nuclear reactors or the raw material for atomic weapons.
The resolution followed a November 7 agreement on suspending enrichment activities that France, Germany and Britain negotiated with Iran to stave off tougher action by the IAEA, which could have referred Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.
"This new situation is a turning point in Iran's nuclear case because, for the first time, the (IAEA) board of governors acknowledged Iran's right to peaceful nuclear activities," Rowhani said.
The United States suspects Tehran has a secret program to produce nuclear weapons, and has been lobbying for the country's nuclear file to go before the Security Council. Iran, for its part, insists its program is strictly for generating electricity.
Rowhani on Tuesday reiterated Iran is committed to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and has no ambition to build an atomic bomb. "Iran has never pursued the production of nuclear weapons and it will never do that," Rowhani said.
Back to Israel, the secrecy over its nuclear ambitions was slightly lifted in the 1980s, when a former technician at the Dimona plant, Mordechai Vanunu, gave the British Sunday Times descriptions and photos of Israeli nuclear warheads. Subsequently, Israeli Mossad agents kidnapped him, bringing him to prison in Israel, where he stayed for 18 years. Following his release, Vanunu said he would continue with his anti-nuclear campaign.
"Israel doesn't need nuclear arms, especially now that all the Middle East is free from nuclear arms," Vanunu said. "My message today to the world is - open the Dimona reactor for inspections”, he declared.
Soon after its creation in 1948, Israel started showing an interest in acquiring nuclear weapons. According to reports, by 1953, a process for extracting uranium found in the Negev desert (located in the southern part of the country) was perfected and a new method of producing heavy water was developed - providing Israel with its own capability to produce some of the most important nuclear materials.
The Dimona complex was variously described as a “textile plant, an agricultural station and a metallurgical research facility” until 1960, when Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion stated that it was a nuclear research center built for "peaceful purposes".
In 1968, a CIA report concluded that Israel had begun to produce nuclear weapons. Even though speculation about the size of Israel's nuclear arsenal followed, Israel has never suffered from the ongoing inspections and suspicions that Iran has been going through.
Arab countries, rightfully so, have widely accused Washington of operating a policy of double-standards, ignoring Israel's weapons programs while insisting that others including Iran and Syria are a threat to peace because of their alleged weapons of mass destruction.
Just recently, after the IAEA passed the resolution, U.S. chief delegate Jackie Sanders told the board there were more than a dozen open questions about Iran's nuclear intentions despite the agency's nearly two-year investigation of the country. "This makes it clear that the IAEA cannot ... offer the necessary assurances that Iran is not attempting to produce nuclear material for weapons," Sanders said.
