SHUNEH, Jordan: Israel’s alleged atomic arsenal poses “the real danger” in the Middle East and not Iran’s nuclear programme, Arab League chief Amr Musa said on Sunday.
“The real danger as far as nuclear military programmes are concerned is posed by Israel and not Iran,” Musa said during a panel discussion on the future of Middle East peacemaking at the World Economic Forum in Jordan.
“We don’t see Iran as the main issue. The vast majority of Arabs does not see Iran as the main issue. Why should we engage with Iran and with Israel?”
“However, we don’t need another nuclear programme in the Middle East,” the Arab League chief said.
Jordanian Prime Minister Nader Dahabi, his Palestinian counterpart Salam Fayyad, Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi and Russian special envoy to the Middle East Alexander Sultanov took part in the discussion on the shores of the Dead Sea.
Israel itself is widely considered to be the Middle East’s sole nuclear armed power but it has never confirmed or denied having an atomic arsenal and refuses to submit to international inspections.
Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and that it has the right to technology already in the hands of many other nations.
