The Media Line Staff
Senior officials representing Iran and Israel's nuclear programs have participated in a regional meeting on nuclear disarmament in Cairo, Egypt.
The two day regional meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear Non Proliferation Disarmament concluded on Wednesday and was attended by Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency Ali Ashgar Soltanieh; Director of policy and arms control at the Israel Atomic Energy Commission Merav Zafary-Odiz; former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami; and Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa.
Israel Atomic Energy Commission confirmed that Zafary-Odiz attended the conference, but did not respond to a request for comment.
Ben-Ami, the most senior Israeli at the gathering, was quoted in Egyptian newspapers as criticizing Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity, in which the country neither confirms nor denies whether it possesses nuclear weapons. Ben-Ami also did not respond to a request for comment.
Dr Ephraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, argued that while the presence of senior Israeli and Iranian nuclear officials together at a relatively small conference may seem symbolic, it did not necessarily have any meaning.
"They didn't necessarily meet, they were just at the same conference," Dr Inbar, who was invited to the event but couldn't attend, told The Media Line. "Usually the Iranians shy away from meetings with Israelis, but multilateral conferences are different and they make every effort they can to try and argue that they are moderate and that they are pursuing a civilian nuclear program. It's part of their propaganda effort."
A number of analysts speaking at the conference were highly critical of Israel for refusing to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, although Israeli scientists are said to have worked with the International Commission on Nuclear Non Proliferation Disarmament.
Participants discussed a proposed treaty to ban the production of nuclear weapons materials and the various ways to achieve a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.
Gareth Evans, the former Foreign Minister of Australia and Co-Chair of the International Commission, argued that the United States and Russia, presented the gravest threat to global security, as they are in possession of the vast majority of the world's nuclear weapons.
"Short of nuclear disarmament, there was lively debate over the possible shape and potential value of assurances by nuclear weapon states about non-use of nuclear weapons against countries without such weapons," said Gareth Evans and Yoriko Kawaguchi, the other Co-Chair of the commission, in a joint statement released Thursday. "The issues of the contribution of export controls, barriers to the illegal transfer of nuclear technology and materials, and strengthening the IAEA safeguards system were discussed."
A joint initiative of the Australian and Japanese governments, the international commission seeks to rid the world of nuclear arms by promoting a stronger nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The treaty is set to be reviewed at a conference next year.
Ben-Ami, an advisory board member of the international commission, was the Minister of Internal Security responsible for the Israeli Police during the outbreak of the 2000 Palestinian Intifada. He served as foreign minister for just over half a year. He has become increasingly left wing since his tenure as foreign minister and currently serves as the Vice-President of The Toledo International Centre for Peace. A long time member of the left-wing Labor party, Ben-Ami backed the far-left Meretz party in national elections earlier this year.
The conference was also attended by Saudi Prince Turki Al Faisal, current director of technical cooperation at the International Atomic Energy Agency Ali El Saedi and representatives from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, the U.A.E., Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey.
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