The US State Department Saturday called upon Israel to forswear nuclear weapons and accept International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards on all nuclear activities, according to a report Sunday in HaAretz daily.
This marks the second time in the last two weeks that officials in the Bush administration are putting the nuclear weapons of Israel, India and Pakistan on a par. The officials called on the three to act like Ukraine and South Africa, which in the last decade renounced their nuclear weapons.
The similar phrasing used by the officials refers to Israel's military nuclear capability, as distinct from "nuclear option," which is to be rolled back, although not necessarily in the "foreseeable future."
