Nuclear-free Middle East tops discussion

JERUSALEM -- The head of the U.N. atomic watchdog agency said he won an endorsement Thursday from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to work for a nuclear-free Middle East. But the pledge appeared vague and weakened by a continued Israeli refusal to confirm its atomic capacities.

Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei said he was pleased by Sharon's response to the goal of a region free of nuclear arms, but was careful to emphasize the Israeli leader was talking about a "vision" and not a concrete plan.

"The prime minister affirmed to me that Israeli policy continues to be that in the context of peace in the Middle East, Israel will be looking forward to the establishment of a nuclear-weapons free zone in the Middle East," ElBaradei said after a meeting with Sharon.

"I hope we can translate these visions into concrete steps."

Israeli officials stressed that arms-control talks are far off, linking them to progress in the "road map" an internationally- backed peace plan that has been stalled since its inception a year ago.

Nonetheless ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he was pleased by Sharon's comments.

"That's the first time I hear that from the prime minister of Israel," he said. "It's not a new policy, but affirming that policy at the level of prime minister I thought to be quite a welcome development."

ElBaradei's three-day visit to Israel was overshadowed by the country's long-standing taboo on discussing its nuclear capabilities. Israel is believed to be the only country in the Middle East to have nuclear missiles ready to be launched.

In the face of overwhelming evidence, ElBaradei would have welcomed at least tacit acknowledgment that Israel has such arms or the means to make them, as a step toward his quest of restarting talks on ridding the region of such weapons.

But Israel did not budge from its stance of neither confirming nor denying it has nuclear arms. It says the policy is the best way to keep Islamic foes from attacking it while denying them the rationale for also seeking such weapons.

"Israel has no reason to change its policy which has served it well," said a senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In an interview published in Thursday's Haaretz newspaper, ElBaradei said the growing threat of nuclear proliferation has put a new premium on regional security arrangements.

During his visit, he said Israel repeatedly raised concerns about archrival Iran's own nuclear ambitions.

Officials who attended an airport meeting between Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and ElBaradei before his return to Vienna said Shalom urged international action on Iran that goes beyond agency inspections and controls. Shalom suggested Tehran be hauled before the U.N. Security Council for what he said was an attempt to make nuclear arms in violation of the Nonproliferation Treaty, said the officials, who demanded anonymity.

By keeping silent on its nuclear capacities, Israel hopes to avoid international controls and criticism of the kind that Iran, which has accepted the treaty, is facing for allegedly violating it.

ElBaradei's agency is probing nearly two decades of suspect nuclear activities in Iran that the United States, Israel and others say reflect attempts to make such weapons.

Tehran insists it only wants nuclear energy to generate power, but several IAEA reports over the past year have suggested the Islamic republic has not fully cooperated with agency inspectors.

Evidence 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 research and statements made by Israeli leaders.

Experts say it may already have as many as 300 warheads as well as the capability of building more quickly.

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On the Net:

Israel Atomic Energy Commission: www.iaec.gov.il/

International Atomic Energy Agency: www.iaea.org