Posted by
InchDeep on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:12:22 PM
Apparently Iran's neighbors don't believe the Iranian nuclear program is for non-military purposes either.
Web posted at: 5/21/2008 1:35:15
Source ::: REUTERS
london
• Growing interest in atomic power among Iran's neighbours could spiral
into a nuclear arms race in the volatile Middle East unless preventive
measures are taken, a leading think-tank said yesteday.
In
a report, the London-based International Institute for Strategic
Studies said Iran's nuclear programme had prompted other states in the
oil-rich region to consider acquiring nuclear technology.
"In
the span of 11 months between February 2006 and January 2007, at least
13 countries in the Middle East announced new or revived plans to
pursue or explore civilian nuclear energy," said the report, entitled
"Nuclear Programmes in the Middle East In the Shadow of Iran".
"This
upsurge of interest is remarkable given both the abundance of
traditional energy sources in the region and the low standing to date
of nuclear energy there."
Iran's
plans to open a Russian-built nuclear power station at Bushehr would
make it the first country in the region to develop nuclear power.
Although Tehran says its programme is for peaceful power generation,
Western powers and Middle East states say they fear Iran is trying to
make a nuclear bomb.
The
IISS report also looked at Israel's nuclear programme, concluding that
the Jewish state possesses nuclear weapons despite its refusal to
confirm this publicly, and would be unlikely to give them up to secure
a nuclear-free Middle East.
Iran's
plans should soon make it "the exception to the rule whereby the Middle
East is the only region in the world without nuclear power", the report
said. "If the recent aspirations of Iran's neighbours are ever
realised, this exception would become the rule".
It said the United Arab Emirates is likely to become the next country in the region after Iran with nuclear power.
Signatories
to the global nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) are allowed to
pursue nuclear power but must agree to controls to prevent them from
building atomic weapons.
The
report said nuclear power programmes in the Middle East could make it
easier for countries to develop weapons programmes if the NPT breaks
down.
Unlike
other Middle Eastern countries, Israel has not signed the NPT. The
report concluded that Israel has had atomic weapons for decades despite
its official policy of "nuclear ambiguity".
"As
Iran reaches one technological milestone after another in its journey
towards acquiring a nuclear-weapons capability, Israel will face a
sequence of dilemmas and be forced to make a series of fateful
decisions as to whether and how it can live with this eventuality," it
said.