The top U.N. nuclear watchdog said both Israel and Iran should be denied nuclear weapons. Mohamed ElBaradei, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Sunday that a Middle East free of nuclear weapons was key to ensuring regional stability. “At the end of the day, the Middle East should be a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, a zone in which Israel and Iran are both members,” ElBaradei said on a visit to Jordan. “This is the last chance to build a security system in the Middle East based on cooperation and trust and not the possession of nuclear weapons.” Israel, which is assumed to have the region’s only atomic arsenal, has said it could enter talks on regional disarmament but only after a comprehensive peace deal is secured. This is not seen as feasible in the near future, given the die-hard hostility of Iran and some Arab nations toward the Jewish state.
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