Nader attacks Israel for eluding NPT

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:50:18 GMT

Veteran liberal, citizens’ rights campaigner and former US presidential candidate, Ralph Nader, has criticized Israel for possessing nuclear weapons and refusing to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). 

“Israel has 250 nuclear bombs and they don’t belong to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, so they aren’t even part of international law,” Nader told Press TV during an anti-war demonstration in Washington DC on Saturday.

Tel Aviv, which is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed power in the Middle East, refuses access to its nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

According to May 2008 comments by former US President Jimmy Carter, Israel has 150 nuclear weapons in its arsenal.

Nader further pointed to the contrast between the treatment Israel is receiving from its Western allies over its nuclear program and the pressure Iran is under for its civilian atomic activities.

“Israel has invaded its neighbors repeatedly. Iran hasn’t invaded anybody in 250 years,” he said.

Despite Tel Aviv’s refusal to renounce nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, Israel and its Western allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian program – a charge strongly denied by Tehran.

Under pressure from the US, Israel’s closest ally, the UN Security Council has passed several rounds of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

This is while Tehran’s is a signatory of the NPT and its nuclear activities are under the constant supervision of the IAEA.

IAEA inspectors have conducted more inspections in Iran than in any other NPT signatory state, and have confirmed that there has been no diversion of nuclear material from civilian to military applications.