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AIEA
PROMOTING REGIONAL NUCLEAR SAFETY AND PEACEFUL USE OF ATOMIC ENERGY IN THE MIDDLE EAST: BUILDING TRUST BETWEEN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
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The Middle East has a fraught relationship with nuclear technology, the peaceful uses for medicine and electricity weighed against fears it has been weaponized as a result of political rivalries. The IAEA was created in 1957 in the period of the early nuclear age (1950s–1970s) to advance safe use of nuclear technology. Israel constructed the Dimona reactor in the late 1950s and was suspected of having created nuclear bombs by the late 1960s, although it has never publicly acknowledged its arsenal. Egypt and Iraq also sought nuclear bomb capability as a response to Israel. All regional states, with the exception of Israel, joined the NPT in 1968. In the 1980s and 2000s, secret weapons programs arose, notably Israel’s bombing of Iraq’s Osirak reactor in 1981. Iran’s nuclear ambitions became the source of international dispute after the 1979 revolution, with IAEA probes and UN sanctions following. Nuclear energy came up in the conversation that involved other Arab states, though little progress was made. The debate over the MENWFZ was initiated in 1974 with the proposal of Egypt and Iran for a nuclear-free zone, and Israel to disarm, which Israel connected with peace agreements. There was no agreement, even with UN backing.The IAEA has helped to embed technical cooperation through implementing, in a part of the world known for its political tensions, programmes such as ARASIA, ANNuR, PGEC and the SESAME Synchrotron in Jordan that show petri-dish life can be lived across borders. Current era (2010s–2020s)Notable developments have included Iran's 2015 deal with world powers — with the U.S. exiting in 2018 and tensions escalating. The UAE brought its Barakah plant on line in 2020 under IAEA safeguards, but Saudi Arabia’s plans are more a matter of promises than reality. Both Israel and Palestine participated in IAEA programmes, indicating possible avenues for modest levels of cooperation. The nuclear history of the Middle East includes both dangers, like proliferation dangers and threats, and opportunities-as one legacy from peaceful nuclear activities may well be trust and cooperation among relevant actors, including, even if larger agreements have languished, MENWFZ.
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