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The National
3 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Explained: Israel's secretive nuclear weapons programme
Israel's justification for its war against Iran is its claim that Tehran is on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fears that a nuclear-armed Iran would alter the balance of power in the Middle East and provide Tehran with the ability to follow through on calls for Israel's destruction. However, Israel remains the only country in the Middle East believed to possess a nuclear arsenal. It has never officially acknowledged holding nuclear weapons, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated last January that it has 90 nuclear warheads. Israel is also believed to possess enough fissile material to produce hundreds more warheads, according to the Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and the Nuclear Threat Initiative. Much of what is known or suspected about Israel's nuclear capabilities centres on its facility near the southern town of Dimona. The Negev Nuclear Research Centre is a secretive operation in the Negev Desert. Israel began its nuclear programme in 1952 by establishing its Atomic Energy Commission. It has operated a nuclear reactor and an underground plutonium separation plant in Dimona since the 1960s, according to the US-based Arms Control Association. It has been reported that the facility is home to decades-old underground laboratories that have worked to formulate weapons-grade plutonium for a nuclear bomb programme. For years, Israel has stuck to a policy of ambiguity, only saying it would not be the first nation to 'introduce' nuclear weapons to the Middle East. Worldwide, the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency has said only nine countries openly acknowledge possessing nuclear weapons or are believed to possess them. The US, Britain, France, Russia and China are officially counted as holders of a nuclear arsenal under the UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The treaty was signed in 1968 by major nuclear and non-nuclear powers and pledged co-operation in preventing the spread of atomic weapons. Israel has never joined the treaty. The country has fought a number of wars with its Arab neighbours since its founding in 1948 in the wake of the Holocaust. An atomic weapons programme, even if undeclared, provides it with an edge to deter its enemies. Preventing Iran achieving nuclear status has been a key policy objective of the Israeli government, despite Iran long insisting its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and not aimed at making a bomb. Iran signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1968.
Business Recorder
14-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Fifth round of Pakistan–European Union dialogue held
ISLAMABAD: The fifth round of the Pakistan–European Union dialogue on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament was held in Islamabad on 12th June 2025. The Pakistan delegation was led by Ambassador Tahir Andrabi, Additional Foreign Secretary for Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security (ACDIS), while the European Union delegation was headed by Ambassador Stephan Klement, EU Special Envoy for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. Both sides engaged in a comprehensive exchange of views on issues related to international and regional peace, security, and strategic stability. Pakistan side briefed their EU interlocutors on developments in the wake of recent Pakistan-India conflict. The discussions also focused on various dimensions of disarmament and non-proliferation, with particular reference to the agenda of the UN General Assembly's First Committee, the Conference on Disarmament and International Conventions, including the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). In addition, the dialogue reviewed recent trends in Multilateral Export Control Regimes (MECRs) and assessed the implications of Emerging Technologies on global security. The avenues for enhanced cooperation in the domain of Science Diplomacy were explored as well. The two sides agreed to hold the sixth round of the dialogue in Brussels in 2026. During his visit to Pakistan, the EU Special Envoy met the foreign secretary and attended roundtable discussion at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad. The Pakistan–EU Dialogue on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament is an integral part of the broader strategic engagement between Pakistan and the European Union, which has been institutionalised since 2012. Pakistan attaches high importance to this regular mechanism of dialogue, recognising it as a vital platform for constructive engagement on global and regional security as well as on disarmament and non-proliferation issues. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
