Riz Khan - Nuclear double standard - Sep 7 2009 - Pt 2

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is discussing Iran's nuclear capabilities just as Israel accused the monitoring body of holding back on its most recent report on Iran.

Israel says it "expects the international community to take substantive and prompt steps to halt Iran's military nuclear programme."

But what about Israel's nuclear arsenal?

It is a well-known secret that Israel has nuclear capabilities and nuclear weapons. Officially, Israel has a policy of not confirming or denying its nuclear capabilities.

Experts and anti-nuclear activists argue that the way in which the West deals with Israel's programme sets a dangerous double standard that makes it impossible to stem the tide of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East or anywhere else.

Breaking with past precedent, a US state department official recently said that they would like Israel to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, but a White House official went on to note that the Israeli and Iranian programmes were unrelated "apples and oranges".