Posted by NEWS on 15/6/2005, 21:20:55 Under international pressure this week to open up to nuclear inspection, Saudi Arabia pointed the finger at Israel and insisted on Monday that it sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and open its nuclear facilities to international inspectors. "Israel must sign the NPT and all its nuclear facilities must be subject to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and this must be made a basic condition for any future security arrangement," the Saudi cabinet of ministers, according to a report in the Saudi English daily, Arab News. The call came at a weekly cabinet meeting, chaired by Crown Prince Abdullah, at which the Saudi government also urged the international community to put pressure on Israel to accede to the NPT and to subject its nuclear facilities to the IAEA inspection. Israel, which many believe has weapons of mass destruction, is not a signatory to the NPT and therefore not subject to IAEA inspections. Saudi Arabia is. The timing of the Saudi call may be meant to redirect IAEA attention away from it. The IAEA opened its Board of Governors meeting on Monday and focused its attention on Iran, North Korea and Saudi Arabia. The US, Europe and Australia are urging Saudi Arabia to allow inspectors to visit. Diplomats accredited to the IAEA told the Associated Press Sunday that Saudi Arabia would be under pressure at the Board of Governors meeting to sign the NPT allowing full inspection. Saudi Arabia would like to sign a deal with the IAEA that basically excludes it from nuclear inspections. The Small Quantities Protocols is an outdated problematic agreement within the NPT which allows signatories to hold in abeyance measures central to effective nuclear verification, such as initial reports on nuclear material and the right to conduct inspections. Since February, the IAEA Secretariat has been consulting with member states, including Saudi Arabia, on this issue. Saudi Arabia stressed "its continuous desire to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and its commitment to abiding by the international agreements, especially the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and others," the Saudi Press Agency quoted a Saudi Foreign Ministry official as saying. Concern regarding possible creation of nuclear weapons in Saudi Arabia was aroused in 2003 when members of the Saudi government stated that due to the worsening relations with the US, it was being forced to consider the development of nuclear weapons. So far, however, the country has denied making any attempt to produce them. It reiterated its denial on Sunday. The kingdom "does not own any nuclear facilities or reactors," said the Saudi Foreign Ministry official. Iran is also under the magnifiying glass but got off fairly easy in the IAEA report, compared with previous summaries since that nation's nuclear program became a matter of international concern three years ago. Nevertheless, IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei, whose position was renewed Sunday, urged Iran on Tuesday to allow agency experts to return to the Parchin military site, which they inspected once but have since been barred from visiting. "I would also ask Iran to support the agency's efforts to pursue further its investigation of the Lavizan-Shian and Parchin sites," he told reporters, adding, "The Iran file will be closed when we close all the issues that are still open." Teheran has been under agency review since revelations in 2003 of nearly two decades of secret nuclear activities, including work on enriching uranium, a technology that can make weapons-grade material. Iran insists it wants to enrich only to generate nuclear power, but froze that program and linked activities late last year as it focused on talks with France, Britain and Germany meant to reduce international concerns about its nuclear ambitions. AP contributed to this report.
Saudis demand Israel sign NPT
By ORLY HALPERN
Jerusalem Post
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