JERUSALEM, 8 July 2004 — The UN atomic energy chief took his campaign for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons to meetings with Israeli energy officials yesterday, as a war of words over Iran’s atomic ambitions intensified.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohammed El-Baradei said Israeli officials had raised their fears about Tehran’s nuclear program, which has been under investigation by the IAEA since February 2003.
“They (the Israelis) were expressing concern about Iran,” El-Baradei told reporters after a meeting here with Gideon Franck, head of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission.
Israeli military intelligence chief Aharon Zeevi was quoted yesterday as saying Tehran may have the bomb by 2008 if the international community does not halt Iran’s march to acquiring nuclear weapons.
In June, the IAEA’s 35-nation board of governors condemned Tehran for poor cooperation and urged it to provide more information so the investigation could conclude in a few months.
El-Baradei began his visit to Israel on Tuesday by playing down prospects of a breakthrough in efforts to persuade the government to reveal its nuclear secrets and rid the Middle East of nuclear weapons.
“I have no illusion that things could happen overnight but I believe that the earlier we start a security dialogue, the better,” El-Baradei said.
El-Baradei also held talks with Israeli Health Minister Danny Naveh yesterday as well as going on a flight over the country.
He is expected to meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon today, but the premier has stressed that Israel’s policy of refusing to confirm or deny that it has nuclear weapons would continue.
Most foreign experts believe Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal of around 200 warheads, although it has stuck to a policy of “strategic ambiguity” for the past 40 years.
Israel is not a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but El-Baradei said that he hoped to persuade Sharon’s government to sign up to other agreements with his agency.
He is expected to push for a deal that would involve Israel informing the IAEA about Israeli imports and exports of nuclear-related material.
El-Baradei said the Israelis had told him they could not consider talking about doing away with nuclear weapons because they “cannot lower their security threshold” as Iran has said it wants to destroy the Jewish state.
Meanwhile, the quartet of Middle East mediators are “sick and tired” of Palestinians failing to carry out reforms and told them yesterday to act soon or risk losing international support and aid, diplomats said.
In another sign of growing pressure for change on besieged leader Yasser Arafat, results from grass roots elections for his Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip showed reformers sweeping the field, Fatah officials said.
