The Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the IAEA General Conference: Is There a “Grand Strategy” behind the IAEA Track?

ABSTRACT While Review Conferences of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons are generally considered the main multilateral forum for discussing the Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone, they are only one of three other multilateral forums that have the zone on their agenda. The often overlooked forum, which represents the main subject of this commentary, is the General Conference (GC) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). On an almost annual basis, two resolutions, entitled Israeli Nuclear Capabilities (INC), and the Application of IAEA Safeguards in the Middle East, are included in the GC’s agenda. This commentary chronicles the evolution of the strategy coordinated by the League of Arab States to prevent regional nuclear proliferation and address an existing one at the IAEA GC through the INC resolution in the context of key regional dynamics and developments, and their impact on the pursuit of the zone.