Arab News Blog

The WSJ/ here

The U.S. is negotiating with Egypt a proposal to make the Middle East a region free of nuclear weapons, as the U.S. seeks to prevent Iran from derailing a monthlong U.N. conference on nuclear nonproliferation that begins Monday.

U.S. officials familiar with the move call it an important step in assuring countries that Washington—criticized by some for its silence about Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal—will equitably address weapons proliferation across the region, as Iran seeks to shift focus away from its own nuclear program. Washington also reassured Israel it won’t foist a nuclear-free zone on the region until all parties agree to it and significant progress has been made on Mideast peace.

The U.N. conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is held every five years, is expected to begin with a bang Monday with an address by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will follow the Iranian leader in the afternoon……

“We’ve made a proposal to them [Egypt] that goes beyond what the U.S. has been willing to do before,” said the senior U.S. official involved in the nuclear diplomacy. U.S. officials stressed, however, that they didn’t believe that would happen without first achieving major advances in Arab-Israeli peace talks. …..The diplomacy could raise new tensions between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if Washington is seen backing away from its commitment to Israel. Israel has voiced concerns that the U.N. conference could turn into an international forum to corner Israel. Mr. Netanyahu backed out of a nuclear-security conference in Washington in March due to such concerns….”

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