The Middle East nuclear weapon free zone is a proposed agreement similar to other nuclear-weapon-free zones. Steps towards the establishment of such a zone began in the 1960s led to a joint declaration by Egypt and Iran in 1974 which resulted in a General Assembly resolution. Following the 1995 NPT Review Conference, the International Atomic Energy Agency held a series of meetings involving experts and academics to consider ways to advance this process. Such a zone would strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, would help to promote global nuclear disarmament and would also help the Middle East peace as substantial confidence-building measures. As of 2014, three countries in the Middle East have been found in non-compliance with their IAEA safeguards obligations under the NPT: Iraq, Iran and Syria. Of these cases, Syria remains unresolved.
History
Steps towards the establishment of such a zone began in the 1960s led to a joint declaration by Egypt and Iran in 1974 which resulted in a General Assembly resolution. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 recognizes the goal of establishing the MENWFZ. Following the 1995 NPT Review Conference, the International Atomic Energy Agency held a series of meetings involving experts and academics to consider ways to advance this process. In 2004, the Gulf Research Center proposed the establishment of a WMD-free zone covering the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iran, Iraq and Yemen. This subregional WMD-free zone was supposed to be a first step toward a broader one to cover the whole Middle East. Following pressure from Egypt and the Arab League, the 2010 NPT Review Conference called for holding a conference on a MENWFZ which would primarily press Israel to end its policy of an ambiguity. Finland planned to host such an event in 2012. However, no agreement was reached on the agenda and other issues, and the conference was called off in November 2012. An international group of concerned citizens, including former members of the Israeli Knesset, responded to the lack of progress in official talks by organizing an International Conference For A WMD-Free Middle East. It was held in Haifa in December 2013. In September 2013, there was an initiative for a weapons of mass destructionfree zone in the Middle East. As at January 2014, the Secretary-General of UNODA has received letters confirming support for declaring the Middle East a region free from weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Such letters have been received from all members of the Arab League As of 2014, three countries in the Middle East have been found in non-compliance with their IAEA safeguards obligations under the NPT: Iraq, Iran and Syria. Of these cases, Iran and Syria remain unresolved.
Positions
Egypt
Egypt sees a MENWFZ as a means of pressure on Israel to relinquish its ambiguous nuclear policy, and to sign the NPT. Until the Iranian nuclear program, Israel was believed to be the only regional country to have a nuclear deterrence capability, developed in the 1960s.
Iran
Iran has denied that it is pursuing a nuclear-weapons capability and insists that its nuclear program solely aims at meeting its growing civilian energy needs. Tehran has taken a low-profile approach toward the MEC, neither endorsing nor rejecting it. In 1974, as concerns in the region grew over Israel's nuclear weapon program, Iran formally proposed the concept of a nuclear weapon free zone in the Middle East in a joint resolution in the UN General Assembly. The Shah of Iran had made a similar appeal five years earlier but had failed to attract any support. The call for the creation of nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East was repeated by Iran's President Ahmadinejad in 2006, by Foreign Minister Mottaki in 2008, and by Foreign Minister Zarif in 2015. In early November 2012, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, announced that his country planned to attend the WMD-free MidEast conference. The conference was however later cancelled.
Israel
, Gerald Steinberg and other experts have noted that Israeli policy has emphasized the link between nuclear demilitarization and a comprehensive peace settlement including Palestinian issues and with countries and potential threats in the region, including Syria and Iran. Israel maintains a veil of “studied ambiguity” about its nuclear arsenal, and has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
