Nuclear projects in the Middle East and the Confidence Building Process

Abstract

A process of confidence building in the MENA region is needed. Transparency in all the safety and non-proliferation issues may be the first step toward the confidence building process between the concerned parties. The inspection of all the nuclear and the suspicious sites and the full cooperation with the IAEA are essential elements in the transparency process. All the concerned parties have to review their paradigm and to look to the safety concerns and the proliferation threats as a whole in the whole region. The Arab states must stop to focus only on the Israeli nuclear warheads. Israel must understand the Arab concerns about its nuclear program and the 5+1 group has also to stop to focus only in the Iranian nuclear program. If the free zone is difficult to establish in the near future in the Middle East, the paradigm review process may lead to create a regional agency able to inspect all the nuclear, chemical and biological facilities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region including Iran and Israel. Any other cooperation project without transparency is not possible and it is a waste of time. This Agency (The Middle East Inspection and Verification Agency: MEIVA) will hire inspectors from the regional states in order to make each inspection as a mutual inspection. The success of the Agency’s inspection and verification mission may lead to open new opportunities to establish peaceful cooperation projects between the MENA countries in all the peaceful scientific and technical areas including nuclear, biological and chemical applications.