By Taylor Luck

AMMAN – Diplomats and security experts on Tuesday urged world governments to seize what some are calling the “last chance” to avert a regional nuclear arms race.

Representatives from the US, Europe and the Arab world convened in Amman yesterday to explore the feasibility of securing a Middle East free of nuclear weapons – a goal that has eluded arms control advocates and diplomats for over three decades.

The three-day conference, titled “Laying the grounds for 2012”, is being held in preparation for a UN-backed gathering next year to establish a weapons of mass destruction (WMD)-free zone in the Middle East, modelled after five similar zones already in effect in Latin America, the South Pacific, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Africa.

In the opening session yesterday, HRH Prince Ali noted that despite being unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly every year since 1981, diplomatic wrangling and ongoing regional tensions have prevented the initiative from becoming a reality.

Saudi Prince Turki Al Faisal delivers an address at the opening of the ‘Laying the grounds for 2012’ conference on Tuesday (Petra photo)

Note by the editor: It is about time! Why only target Iran’s nuclear plans without demanding the dismantling of the Israeli nuclear arsenal? Israel may consider Iran to be a ‘top problem’ as owners of nuclear weapons, but of course Arabs consider Israel as a ‘top problem’ as owners of nuclear weapons too. We cannot demand a nuclear free Iran without at the same time demanding a nuclear free Israel. And a nuclear free world actually! Equal justice for all!