Warning About Discussions on Use of Nuclear Weapons, IAEA Head Urges Israel to Join Non-Proliferation Treaty

Head of IAEA Rafael Grossi. (Twitter/@iaeaorg)

JAKARTA - The head of the UN atomic watchdog warned against indiscriminate discussions about the use of nuclear weapons, after an Israeli minister was suspended for commenting on the possible use of such weapons in the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Minister of Cultural Heritage Amihai Eliyahu said on November 5 that the use of atomic weapons was an option in Gaza. it sparked reactions from Middle Eastern countries to Tel Aviv's ally, the United States.

Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi was reluctant to comment directly on Eliyahu's statement at the UN agency council meeting in Vienna, Austria.

But he said there was "widespread agreement in the world on the fact that nuclear war cannot be won and therefore should not be fought".

"Any unclear talk about the use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable," said Grossi, as reported by The National News, November 23.

Grossi further urged Israel, which has a policy of neither confirming nor denying the possession of nuclear weapons, to join the global non-proliferation treaty.

He said the IAEA had made "repeated calls to all countries in the Middle East, including Israel, to join the agreement, as well as open all their nuclear facilities to comprehensive safeguards inspections".

It is known that Eliyahu himself was suspended from attending a cabinet meeting after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his statements about the Israel-Gaza war were "not based on reality".

Five nuclear-armed states, Russia, the US, Britain, France, and China, are parties to the non-proliferation treaty. Meanwhile, Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea, which are known or assumed to have nuclear weapons, have not joined the agreement.