Nuclear-Free Middle East: Reasons for Hope

Reasons for Iran to participate in a Nuclear-Free-Zone (NFZ): Iran would find it easier to restrict or give up its nuclear programme as part of a regional NFZ than as a unilateral concession to avoid sanctions. A Middle East NFZ would sit well with the Arab Peace Initiative and with the Sesame Project. It would bring together the three Abrahamic faiths, and could lead to the creation of a Middle East Common Market, harnessing trade as an instrument for peace. Both Syria and Iraq have used chemical or biological weapons in the recent past, and Iranians have been attacked by biological weapons. Israel and Iran might accept a NFZ treaty if it covered all weapons of mass destruction, and was not restricted to nuclear weapons. In the absence of a NFZ treaty, Egypt, Turkey (which already hosts US nuclear weapons) and Saudi Arabia might also be tempted to develop nuclear weapons programmes. It has been reported that, if Iran gets nuclear weapons, Pakistan will provide nuclear bombs to the Saudis who originally funded the Pakistani nuclear programme. The leaders of 22 Arab states meeting in Kuwait in March 2014 issued the "Kuwait Declaration" in which they reiterated their commitment to creating a Middle East free of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction. They reaffirmed their adherence to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and urged an end to the arms race in the region.

Reasons for Israel to participate in a Nuclear-Free-Zone (NFZ):

• If Iran gains nuclear weapons Israel and Iran will be military equals. If neither has nuclear weapons Israel will remain the dominant military power in the Middle East. So a nuclear-free zone would not change Israel's position of strength; it would enhance Israel's security.
• Israel's nuclear capability has not deterred suicide bombers, or rocket attacks from Lebanon or the Gaza Strip.
• Nuclear reactors built in the 1950s were designed for a 30-year life span. The Israeli reactor at Dimona is over 60 years old! Israelis recognise that they will not be allowed to import another nuclear power station unless they sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty and permit inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
• Israel has never admitted where its nuclear waste is stored, or where its uranium comes from. With increasing questioning of trade with Israel, uranium will become harder to import.

Israel and Iran have a common interest -

• Israelis need to say: "We will accept a NFZ treaty, provided that Iran accepts it too".
• Iranians need to say: "We will accept a NFZ treaty, provided that Israel accepts it too".

There is increasing recognition, especially in non-nuclear countries, of the non-military effects of nuclear weapons. They are indiscriminate and cruel, affecting fundamental human needs including health, climate, food and water. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has emphasised these humanitarian effects.
In July 2017 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Nuclear Prohibition Treaty with the intention of banning all nuclear weapons.
In December 2013 a nongovernmental conference was held in Haifa, Israel, to promote a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.
The Regional Peace and Disarmament Movement (RPM) is the Israeli movement campaigning for a Nuclear-Free Zone in the Middle East.

Note obstacles to a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.