by Our Foreign Desk

THE Middle East’s only nuclear-armed power outrageously blamed its nuclear-free Arab neighbours on Thursday for the failure of progress towards a Middle East clear of nuclear weapons.

Israel shocked Arab participants in a global conference on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in New York by releasing a statement claiming: “If a serious regional effort has not emerged in the Middle East during the last five years, it is not because of Israel.”

It was the country’s first public comment since it showed up as a surprise observer to the conference.

Israel has never publicly admitted having nuclear weapons and is not party to the NPT.

As an observer, it cannot address the conference, where many countries have expressed frustration that a promised meeting to discuss creating a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East has not taken place.

The need to establish such a zone is an area of rare agreement between the US and Russia.

Both countries urged progress this week, with Russia expressing “grave dissatisfaction” at the delay and US Secretary of State John Kerry calling the proposed zone an “ambitious goal fraught with challenges,” but one worth pursuing.

Speaking on behalf of more than 100 developing countries, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called on Israel to give up its nuclear weapons, saying they were a regional threat.

But Israeli officials have ignored the call and claim that even their decision to attend the conference on an observer basis is a “reflection of Israel’s commitment to the principle of non-proliferation.”