Iran�s ambassador to Vienna-based international organizations urged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to address the Israeli regime's nuclear status.

In a letter to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, Kazem Gharibabadi urged the UN nuclear watchdog to draw the attention of all members of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to the threats posed by the regime of Israel as a result of its nuclear weapons and request them to support addressing this issue at the meetings of the Agency's Board of Governors and the General Conference as well as the tenth Review Conference of the NPT.

�Since all in the Middle East region, except Israeli regime, are parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and have undertaken to accept the Agency's Comprehensive Safeguards, development of a clandestine nuclear weapon program by Israel poses a continuing serious threat not only to the security and stability of the region and the world but also to the effectiveness and efficiency of the NPT and the Agency's safeguards regime. Development of nuclear explosive devices of any kind by anybody should raise alarms anywhere,� the Iranian diplomat wrote in his letter, adding, �It should be rejected promptly and without any prejudices. Needless to say that Israel is not also a party to any of other major treaties governing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) non-proliferation.�

Referring to NPT Resolution on the Middle East in 1995, Gharibabadi also noted that Israel�s nuclear capabilities will put regional and international peace and security at risk, writing: �The Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the NPT which was held in May 1995 adopted a package of decisions in which the Resolution on the Middle East was an integral part of the decision to an indefinite extension of the NPT.�

�This resolution reflects the concerns of the States Parties to the Treaty about the dangerous situation in the Middle East resulting from the presence in the region of nuclear activities not subject to the IAEA safeguards, which puts regional and international peace and security at risk.�

Gharibabadi continued that the Israeli regime kept developing an advanced nuclear weapon program despite the resolutions adopted by the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency from 1987 to 2010, calling upon the Zionist regime to place its nuclear facilities under Agency safeguards and to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear weapon party, but in defiance of international calls, with a clear negative impact on peace and stability in the Middle East region and beyond, the Israeli regime continues to ignore the international community by downplaying the significance of the Treaty.

The Iranian diplomat pointed to the dire role of the Director General that should explicitly and categorically call upon Israel to accede to the NPT promptly and without any precondition as a non-nuclear party, and place all its nuclear materials and facilities under the Agency's comprehensive safeguards.

He also requested the Director General to take necessary measures in addressing the concerns raised in his letter and keep the Member State's informed about the results.