Iran at Forefront of Push for Nuclear-Weapons-Free Middle East

Iran continues to be behind a longstanding proposal at the United Nations for a regional nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East.

However, there are lingering questions crying out for answers: how realistic is Iran’s proposal in the face of implicit opposition from the United States and Israel which have nuclear weapons.

The danger of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East shows that business cannot continue as usual. It is a real threat, and this threat is further exacerbated by the two nuclear weapons regimes that have used the Middle East in their power games and scapegoated Iran in not reaching a final document at the annual NPT Review Conferences.

Like Iran, other states from within the region understand the gravity of the threat and the need for a comprehensive process that reduces tensions and serves as a starting point for an inclusive discussion in goodwill.

The United Nations claims it has been working to eliminate nuclear weapons, including through the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, as well as the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, both of which are yet to enter into force. The problem is this is all for political points.

That said, the stakes for international as well as regional security could not be higher still. Ending weapons of mass destruction possession and use in the Middle East has to be a vital priority for every country. For this Israel should be held to account too.

This is because the US and Israel behave as if they want to keep nuclear weapons and freedom of action for the foreseeable future. That’s a dangerous position to take, particularly after Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of the JCPOA (2015 nuclear restraint agreement with Iran).

Which is why Iran has been working with states from within the region and the international community to draw attention to the fact that the most important component missing is the belief that such a zone is still possible and the goodwill needed to sustain this process.

Iran says there are several possibilities to move forward if only the states want to achieve the zone, instead of using this topic to bash each other for short-term political points. 

The main diplomatic challenge is to take forward a positive process that engages positively with the existing treaty regimes covering all types of weapons of mass destruction. At a minimum, it would have been important for the UN to commit to holding a follow up conference every year under UN General Assembly auspices.

They should also consider what positive initiatives can be taken to the Non-Proliferation Treaty Conference in 2020, especially in light of the 1995 Resolution on the Middle East and the failure to hold the 2012 Conference that was agreed in 2010.

Although nuclear weapons have only been used once in history, the 1945 bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War attest to their devastation. 

The United States and Israel decided not to participate in this year’s conference, however, their absence in the room is not necessarily a bad thing at this moment as it allows the other states to have a constructive discussion to serve as a positive and crucial step towards a positive outcome.

Having said that, the civil society should call on Israel to pay attention that with consensus on all final decisions on the WMD Free Zone treaty, it has everything to lose by not joining the process and international isolation to gain.

The US’s stand is that the time is not right and the states in the region are not ready for disarmament. The US should be reminded that there is huge difference between disarmament and dismantlement - there is no such thing as not being ready for disarmament as disarmament begins with a conversation if there is goodwill. Just like Israel, the US hasn’t shown that goodwill. 

The question is not readiness, wanting or not wanting - as the US and Israel on numerous times have rejected the establishment of a WMD Free Zone in the Middle East. It is time to start this much-needed discourse - just as it is time for the US, Israel and other nuclear weapons states to dismantle their stockpiles based on a specific timeline and with no strings attached.