Israel would have to open its nuclear facilities to IAEA inspection, and destroy its nuclear arsenal, if it joined the NPT
New
York - The US administration on Friday agreed to a compromise to salvage a month-long round of talks aimed at updating the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty
NPT -- and then promptly announced that it may not accept one of the conditions of the deal.
All 189 NPT signatories accepted the 28-page review document in a vote
Friday night. It directs the United Nations secretary-general to convene a conference in 2012, aimed at creating a "weapon
of mass destruction (WMD)-free zone" in the Middle East. The final document also urges Israel to join the treaty (along with India and Pakistan, the other two countries to never sign the
NPT). Israel would have to open its nuclear facilities to IAEA inspection, and destroy its nuclear arsenal, if it joined the NPT.
The US has long shielded Israel's nuclear program from scrutiny, so even the modest language of the NPT declaration is a policy shift. The White House had little choice but to accept it: Arab states basically threatened to walk away from the conference if it wasn't included, and the NPT review requires a unanimous vote from signatory
nations. US president Obama issued a statement praising the document as
balanced but criticizing the specific section on Israel. "We strongly oppose efforts to single out Israel, and will oppose actions that jeopardize Israel's national
security."
On Saturday Israel criticized as hypocritical the Nuclear Non-Proliferation conference.
Iran welcomed the US move.
