Iran, Syria warn against Israel’s nuclear threat
3/25/2006 1:00:00 PM GMT

(AFP PHOTO) Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki

Iranian and Syrian officials warned Saturday against the threat posed by Israel's controversial nuclear programme.

Israel neither confirms nor denies having nuclear weapons. But many international experts have raised concern over the Jewish state's presence on the world's list of nuclear powers.

Israel’s nuclear capability could be considered the most secretive weapons of mass destruction programme in the world.

Visiting Syrian First Vice President Farouq Al Shara, who arrived in Tehran on Friday, and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that "the nuclear arms of the Quds occupier regime (Israel) and the fact that it does not join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is a real threat in the Middle East", state television said.

Iran, a signatory of the signed the NPT, responsible for ensuring global peaceful use of nuclear energy, has been facing mounting international pressure, headed by the United States, which claims it’s using it’s civilian nuclear programme as a guise for disgraceful preparations for a nuclear weapons program. Accusations that have been repetitively rejected by Tehran.

Also discussed during the Iran-Syrian talks, was the deteriorating situation in Iraq. The two officials urged foreign ministers of Iraq's neighbours to hold an immediate meeting to discuss ways to help restore security and stability in the war-devastated country.

Al-Shara delivered a message from the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Al Shara’s visit follows Nejad's trip to Damascus last January.

• Israel’s nukes

Israel continuously refuses to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty , aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons which would endanger global security.

Thus Israel’s nuclear sites were never subject to inspections and the threat of sanctions by the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Israel's Atomic Energy Commission was formed in 1952 and began working closely with the Israeli military.

By 1953, according to the BBC, a process for extracting uranium found in the Negev desert was completed and scientists invented a new method of producing heavy water - giving Israel great capability to produce some of the most important nuclear materials.

Israel sought and received the assistance of France.

According to Washington-based website GlobalSecurity.org, a secret agreement between the two states resulted in the construction of the Dimona plant in the late 1950s.

U.S. inspectors visited Israel's Dimona reactor several times in 1960s, however, they failed to obtain an accurate picture of the activities going on there, due to the fact that, according to GlobalSecurity.org, Israelis installed false control room panels and brick over elevators and hallways that accessed certain areas of the facility.

However, inspectors were able to report that they saw no scientific research or civilian nuclear power programme that could justify such a huger reactor.

A U.S. Central Intelligence Agency report in 1968 found that Israel had begun to produce nuclear weapons.

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