Turkey Calls on Iran, Israel to Observe Int'l Law concerning nuke programs

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.zaman.com/?bl=hotnews&alt=&trh=20060529&hn=33517

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has called on neighboring Iran and Israel to observe the international laws concerning their controversial nuclear programs and projects. snip

In reference to the Iranian nuclear row, Turkish Foreign Minister reiterated that Turkey was completely against nuclear proliferation in the region.

"If a country is party to the non-proliferation treaty, it should work in transparency. We encourage Iran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency," Gul said.

All nuclear weapons in region should be eliminated, he added, implying those of Israel, which is believed to have up to 200 nuclear warheads.

[Tom Joad]

1. Peace Action has taken a similar stance.

http://www.peace-action.org/home/01.24.06iranstatement.html

Peace Action Official Statement on Iran:
Renewing the Call for a Nuclear-Free Middle East

January 24, 2006

Today we are renewing the call for a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone in the Middle East. Re-opening negotiations toward achieving that goal is the best way—perhaps the only way—to halt without violence the prospect of a nuclear arms race in that deeply troubled part of the world. Additionally, achieving a Nuclear Free Zone in the Middle East would bring the world one step closer to eliminating both the problem of nuclear proliferation and the threat of nuclear war and could serve as a model solution for resolving similar tensions in other regions of the world.

The call for a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East was first issued in 1974, when the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for all states in the region to declare that they will refrain from producing, acquiring or in any way possessing nuclear weapons and nuclear explosive devices and from permitting the stationing of nuclear weapons on their territory by any third party. It also called for the states to place all their nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. In subsequent years, the General Assembly on several occasions renewed its call.

It is also pertinent that UN Security Resolution 687, passed in 1991, which demanded Iraqi disarmament, did so within the context of "establishing in the Middle East a zone free of weapons of mass destruction." It was alleged violations of this resolution which the Bush administration used to justify its illegal 2003 invasion of Iraq, even though Iraq had already complied with its disarmament provisions. The United States has refused to push for the full implementation of this resolution, however, by its refusal to support the establishment of a WMD-free zone for the entire region.

In 1974, Israel was the only Middle Eastern state that possessed nuclear weapons. Israel remains so today, and has rejected calls to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty or place its nuclear facilities under IAEA inspection as mandated by UN Security Council Resolution 487. Other countries in the region have long asserted that Israel's nuclear arsenal poses a threat to their security and is a provocation to nuclear proliferation. ... More

[Tom Joad]

2. Fairness. It's not only a good idea...

its the law.

[demosincebirth]

3. Israel is not the one doing the saber rattling.

Only thing I hear is Iran threatening to annihilate Israel.

[NNN0LHI]

4. Yes Iran should watch what they say and do what we tell them to do

Oh, wait a minute. Saddam tried doing that and see where it got him?

Don

[jody]

5. I agree, Israel doesn't rattle sabers but it does shake nukes.

[Tom Joad]

6. You gotta be kidding. Israel *does* threaten Iran.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,133899,00.html
Israel Threatens Iran Over Nuclear Program
JERUSALEM — Israel will consider "all options" to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said in an interview published Wednesday, marking the latest in a series of Israeli threats against Iran's nuclear program.


'Iran can also be wiped off the map'
Vice Premier Shimon Peres said Monday that "the president of Iran should remember that Iran can also be wiped off the map."

"Teheran is making a mockery of the international community's efforts to solve the crisis surrounding Iran's nuclear program," Peres told Reuters, adding that "Iran presents a danger to the entire world, not just to us."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1145961301962
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The saber rattling and rhetoric on both sides are deplorable, but at this point it is only Israel that has a capability to wipe any Middle Eastern country off the map.

What is needed desparetly is a fair plan to make the Middle East a nuke free zone. We also need a committment for the world to wipe nuclear weapons "off the map". This will only come through agreements, not warfare.