Damocle's sword still hangs on Iran!

Like India and Pakistan Israel is not a signatory to Nuclear Arms Proliferation Treaty and actively but clandestinely pursued its nuclear ambition while maintaining an ambiguity about its nuclear arsenal. It neither accepted nor denied the possession of nuclear weapons. However she had begun her quest to develop nuclear weapons since the country's inception in 1948. In 1956 France agreed to provide Israel an 18-Megawatt nuclear reactor that, after France's invasion of Suez alongside Britain and Israel in the same year, was upgraded to 24-Megawatt. The reactor provided by France was erected at Dimona in Neger desert and has remained functional to which Britain, the US and the IAEA are privy. Ever since Tel Aviv has pursued its nuclear programme for military purposes in a way that is an open secret.

Once a significant quantity of enriched uranium disappeared from an American reactor. Decades later it was discovered that it had landed in Israel. The arcane episode that could not have been possible without the connivance of American officials was never subjected to an enquiry -- one of the pointers to many such covert support that came from the West for Israel's nuclear build up.

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Dimona still remains to be Israel's nuclear Shangri-La -- untouched by international inspection or safeguard. The IAEA chief quietly suggested not to look in that direction to stay out of trouble. It is not for nothing that the IAEA's Egyptian head was awarded out of all people coveted Nobel peace prize. Earlier he tried to be equivocal about Anglo-American claims about Iraq possessing WMD while Bush-Blair duo wanted an unequivocal chit from the IAEA. By quickly mending his ways with regard to Iraq's WMD and later successfully stage managing IAEA's crucial vote on 24 September El Baradei continues to be in the office of nuclear watch dog.

Although according to the American Federation of Scientists Israel had achieved nuclear capability by 1960 every year since then IAEA chose not to censure Israel in its annual meetings. Even this year as the IAEA's 139 members called for a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East the Oman-sponsored resolution seeking to condemn an Israeli nuclear threat to the region remained a non-started after the Israeli delegate manipulated to have the majority with him and got away with the remark that the Arab resolution was politically motivated. The kind of drama seen at the IAEA meeting is an annual exercise that does nothing to throw Israel's nuclear installations open to inspection and dismantle its nuclear arsenal.

Today Israel is known to possess nuclear weapons estimated between 200 and 400 of varying types ranging from suitcase bombs meant for restricted war zones to major devices of enormous lethality to cause an unparalleled holocaust. It is reckoned in some quarters that Israel qualifies to possess more nuclear weapons than Britain which is recognised nuclear state and signatory to the NPT. Yet neither the US nor the European Union has bothered to call Israel to account on this score. Instead both have rewarded Israel with military and economic aid as well as diplomatic support on the strength of which it refuses to vacate occupied West Bank and harbour expansionist desire for its so-called 'greater Israel'. Its hard line Likud government continues to expand Jewish settlement and there is no sign that it will implement the two state solution forward by international community. In the past also it sabotaged all peace plans because it knows it enjoys the US' unqualified backing.

When seen in the backdrop Israel's nuclear build up with the West's acquiscene, if not abutment and her continued swagger with regard to the Palestinian the IAEA's unusual alacrity to censure Iran with the former's heavy hand planted on Iran's nuclear installations would at once appear partisan and schisophrenic to say the least. Because Tehran has signed the NPT and insists it has a right to the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Yet American and European reaction has been hostile. It must however be said that the European three -- Britain, France and Germany -- have shown more patience and sophistication in their dealing with Iran. But for them, perhaps, Israel -- with the backing of America driven by her paranoia and paroxysm on Iran issue -- might have now struck at Iran's nuclear installation just as it destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981. At the same time both the US and EU-3's indifference to Israel's going nuclear and possessing bombs as early as nineties only speaks of their hypocrisy.

But Iran -- vulnerable as she is -- has learnt in a bitter way from the war in neighbouring Iraq, that in the present milieu a nuclear bomb is perhaps the best safeguard for security. If Iraq really had a bomb the Anglo-US invasion of the country could perhaps be averted. Iran adhered to IAEA safeguard and international obligation in suspending her uranium enrichment programme in November last year. It was found futile from the way the negotiations were proceeding with EU-3 and IAEA. The programme has been resumed last month by Iran in a mood of defiance. It is yet to be seen how would it work.

Brig ( retd) Hafiz is former DG of BIISS.