On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the UN’s Conference on Disarmament in Geneva that Israel’s nuclear weapons pose a “grave threat” to the world.
Israel is estimated to have somewhere between 90 and 300 nuclear weapons, and its nuclear arsenal gets very little attention since both the US and Israel do not acknowledge its existence. Israel is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), meaning its nuclear weapons program is not subject to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Araghchi called for the world to put pressure on Israel over its secret nuclear weapons program. “The international community must hold this regime accountable, and demand that it renounce the possession of nuclear weapons, accede to the NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon party, and subject all its nuclear facilities and activities to the comprehensive IAEA Safeguards,” he said.
Aragchi also condemned threats from Israeli officials related to Israel’s nuclear weapons. In November 2023, former Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, who recently resigned over the Gaza ceasefire deal, said dropping a nuke on Gaza was an option for Israel. “We categorically condemn this illegitimate, illegal, and irresponsible action and position,” Aragchi said.
Last year, Avigdor Liberman, a member of the Israeli Knesset and leader of the Avigdor Liberman, said Israel may have to stop Iran’s nuclear program with “non-conventional” means, a veiled reference to Israel’s nuclear weapons.
“It is not possible anymore to stop the Iranian nuclear program with conventional means,” Liberman said. “And we will have to use all the means that are available to us. We will have to stop with the deliberate policy of ambiguity, and it needs to be clear what is at stake here.”
While Israeli and US officials are constantly hyping up the threat of Iran developing nuclear weapons, there’s no evidence Tehran has decided to build a nuclear bomb, a fact recently acknowledged by the CIA. Unlike Israel, Iran is a signatory to the NPT and is subject to IAEA inspections.
