In his pitch for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons, the head of the UN atomic watchdog agency is likely this week to press for at least tacit acknowledgment from Israel that it has such arms or the means to make them.
Israel does not directly comment on its nuclear capacity, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would not specify how its head, Mohamed ElBaradei, would push officials during his two-day visit to the Jewish state that was to start yesterday.
But ahead of the trip, ElBaradei has said that Israel should start talking seriously about a Middle East free of nuclear arms, whether or not it owns up to having them. Earlier this year, he condemned the imbalance caused in the Middle East because of "Israel sitting on nuclear weapons."
On the eve of ElBaradei's visit, IAEA spokesman Mark Gwoz-cecky linked it to the need "for a strategic dialogue at nuclear issues, aimed at building up ... mutual confidence and, in the long run, making the region free of weapons of mass destruction."
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was quoted on Tuesday as saying that Israel would not change its "no show, no tell" nuclear policy. ElBaradei's visit comes at a time of fears that Iran is secretly trying to develop such weapons
"I don't know what he is coming to see. Israel has to hold in its hand all the elements of power necessary to protect itself by itself," Sharon said on Israel's Army Radio hours before ElBaradei's visit. "Our nuclear policy has proven itself and will continue."
Reflecting Israel's continued policy of keeping the agency at arm's length, senior diplomats familiar with the Vienna-based IAEA said ElBaradei would not be visiting Dimona, the nuclear facility in the Negev Desert thought to be at the heart of Israel's weapons program.
ElBaradei was to meet Sharon and other senior officials.
Israeli analysts warned against even low expectations.
"There is no foundation for a change in Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity under present circumstances, and the topic is not on the agenda," wrote Gerald M. Steinberg, a fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
Evidence that that Israel has nuclear arms is overwhelming, much of it based on details and pictures leaked in 1986 by Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu, as well as other leaks, research and statements made by Israeli leaders.
"Give me peace, and we will give up the atom," declared former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres in 1995, when hopes for a Middle East settlement were still alive. "If we achieve regional peace, I think we can make the Middle East free of any nuclear threat."
Israel's doctrine of "nuclear ambiguity" -- never formally confirming or denying that it has such weapons -- is meant to keep the Islamic world from considering an annihilating attack while denying it the rationale for developing its own nuclear deterrent.
While the US accuses Iran and possibly Syria of interest in such weapons, Israel is believed to be far advanced and the only country in the region thought to have nuclear missiles ready to launch.
Still, Israel has left few footprints in developing any weapons program. And because it has resisted international pressure to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Israel does not formally have to declare itself as a weapons state or agree to any curbs on its nuclear activities.
That leaves the IAEA and the rest of the world guessing about the nature and scope of Israel's program.
Experts say Israel may already have as many as 300 warheads as well as the capability of building more quickly.
David Albright, a former Iraq nuclear inspector who runs the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, says that despite turbulence in the Middle East the time might be right for ElBaradei's mission because "Iraq has been dealt with" as a threat to Israel and "Iran is being isolated" as the world pushes for exposure of its nuclear secrets.
Nuclear expert Avner Cohen, a senior fellow at the University of Maryland, says Israel's policy has served it well by acting as a deterrent while denying enemies the chance of arguing they have the right to nuclear weapons as well.
But he says "opacity" has outlived its usefulness and that Israel should now be up front about its capacities.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of