{"id":296809,"date":"2025-06-16T12:01:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T11:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=296809"},"modified":"2025-06-16T09:22:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T08:22:31","slug":"the-middle-east-as-a-zone-free-of-nuclear-weapons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2025\/06\/the-middle-east-as-a-zone-free-of-nuclear-weapons\/","title":{"rendered":"The Middle East as a Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iran-map-target.webp\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-296811\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iran-map-target-300x225.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iran-map-target-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iran-map-target-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iran-map-target.webp 794w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Why the focus ought to be on Israel, not Iran. Israel has 90-400 nuclear weapons. Here is what a simple AI dialogue yields. Any journalist could do it. No one does.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>15 Jun 2025\u00a0<\/em>&#8211;\u00a0The UN General Assembly Resolution that declares the Middle East a zone free of nuclear weapons is <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.securitycouncilreport.org\/un-documents\/document\/disarm-ares3263-xxix.php#:~:text=A%2FRES%2F3263%20%28XXIX%29%20-%20This%20resolution%20raised%20a%20question,a%20nuclear%20weapons-free%20zone%20in%20the%20Middle%20East.\"  rel=\"\">UN General Assembly Resolution A\/RES\/76\/30<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Title: <em>Establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region of the Middle East.<\/em><br \/>\nDate: Most recently adopted on 6 December 2021 (and reaffirmed annually with updates)<br \/>\nOriginal Adoption: First introduced in 1974 (Resolution A\/RES\/3263 (XXIX))<\/p>\n<p><em>This resolution:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Calls for the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East.<\/li>\n<li>Urges all states in the region to place all their nuclear activities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.<\/li>\n<li>Reaffirms that the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region contributes to international peace and security.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While it is <em>not legally binding,<\/em> it reflects strong international consensus and is reaffirmed annually by the UN General Assembly, usually with overwhelming support.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Connection to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (that Iran has signed but not Israel):<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), particularly Article VII, encourages the establishment of regional nuclear-weapon-free zones (NWFZs). The idea of a Middle East NWFZ was first proposed in the 1974 General Assembly Resolution A\/RES\/3263 by Egypt and Iran.<\/p>\n<p><em>Here&#8217;s how they relate:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>NPT Commitments:\n<ul>\n<li>Non-nuclear-weapon states under the NPT agree not to develop or acquire nuclear weapons.<\/li>\n<li>Nuclear-weapon states (U.S., Russia, China, UK, France) agree to pursue disarmament and to help non-nuclear states use nuclear energy peacefully.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Middle East NWFZ Goal:\n<ul>\n<li>The NWFZ resolution builds on this by aiming for a region-wide ban on nuclear weapons, addressing concerns that Israel, which is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons but is not a party to the NPT, remains outside the regime.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>1995 NPT Review Conference Resolution:\n<ul>\n<li>A key decision during the 1995 NPT Review Conference extended the NPT indefinitely conditioned on progress toward a Middle East NWFZ.<\/li>\n<li>This made it a political obligation, especially for the nuclear-weapon states, to facilitate such a zone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>UNGA Voting on Resolution A\/RES\/76\/30 (Example from 2021)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This resolution is adopted <em>annually<\/em> with wide support. Here&#8217;s how the 2021 vote (Resolution 76\/30) went:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Votes in Favor: 178<\/li>\n<li>Votes Against: Israel<\/li>\n<li>Abstentions: United States<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\ud83d\udcac <strong>Notable Positions:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Israel: Votes <\/strong><em><strong>against<\/strong><\/em><strong> the resolution every year. It has not signed the NPT and maintains a policy of nuclear ambiguity.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>United States: Typically abstains, citing that such initiatives should include all regional states in negotiations, and often expressing concern that the resolution singles out Israel.<\/li>\n<li>Arab States, Iran, and many others: Strongly support the resolution, viewing it as essential for regional and global security.<\/li>\n<li>Despite the repeated UNGA resolutions and support from nearly all states, the Middle East remains the only region without a NWFZ, largely due to:<\/li>\n<li>Lack of regional consensus.<\/li>\n<li>Israel&#8217;s position on nuclear weapons and refusal to join the NPT.<\/li>\n<li>Security concerns among Gulf states.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here is <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nuclear_weapons_and_Israel\"  rel=\"\">Wikipedia\u2019s very comprehensive account<\/a> of Israel\u2019s nuclear weapons and how it acquired them. It seems to have between 90 and 400 nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n<p>Here is <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/assets.nationbuilder.com\/ican\/pages\/5321\/attachments\/original\/1727705128\/Israeli_Nuclear_Weapons_Briefing_Paper_30.09.2024_-_final.pdf?1727705128\"  rel=\"\">ICAN\u2019s report<\/a> from September 2024.<\/p>\n<p><em>__________________________________________<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/JanOberg-scaled-e1596967349638.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-166625\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/JanOberg-scaled-e1596967349638.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"143\" \/><\/a>Prof. Jan Oberg, Ph.D. is director of the independent <\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/transnational.live\/\" >Transnational Foundation for Peace &amp; Future Research-TF<\/a><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/transnational.live\/\" >F<\/a><em> in Sweden and a member of the <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/\" >TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment<\/a><em>. CV: <\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/transnational.live\/jan-oberg\" ><em>https:\/\/transnational.live\/jan-oberg<\/em><\/a><em><br \/>\n<\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/transnational.live\/\" ><em>https:\/\/transnational.live<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thetransnational.substack.com\/p\/the-middle-east-as-a-zone-free-of?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=1655621&amp;post_id=166018287&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=b6biw&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email\" >Go to Original &#8211; thetransnational.substack.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why the focus ought to be on Israel, not Iran. Israel has 90-400 nuclear weapons. Here is what a simple AI dialogue yields. Any journalist could do it. No one does.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":296811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[742,88,1323,1565,450],"class_list":["post-296809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transcend-members","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-nuclear-club","tag-nuclear-free-middle-east","tag-nuclear-weapons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":296812,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296809\/revisions\/296812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}