Israel’s nukes most serious threat to Middle East: ElBaradei

October 1st, 2009 IAEA says chief ElBaradei to visit Iran soonGENEVA — The International Atomic Energy Agency says its director will visit Iran to discuss issues related to the country's nuclear program. An IAEA statement says Mohamed ElBaradei was "invited to Tehran by Iranian authorities.

September 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei Wednesday warned against the "biggest threat" of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of extremist groups and asked India to lead global efforts towards nuclear disarmament. "The biggest threat to the world remains ...

September 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India Wednesday lauded UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei for his role in the success of India's global civil nuclear deal as President Pratibha Patil presented the Indira Gandhi Prize to him. Patil presented the 2008 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development to ElBaradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), at a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

September 9th, 2009 VIENNA - There was a "high probability" that Iran worked to develop nuclear weapons in the past, if intelligence information in that regard is genuine, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Wednesday in Vienna. ElBaradei was referring to documents received by his organisation that points to a number of suspicious Iranian studies, including the modification of the model of a missile to carry a nuclear warhead.

September 2nd, 2009 VIENNA - Outgoing International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei has called the Iranian nuclear threat "hyped," saying there is no proof of the Islamic republic soon having nuclear weapons. "In many ways, I think the threat has been hyped," ElBaradei told the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in an interview released Tuesday.

July 23rd, 2009 US Middle East envoy Mitchell heading to SyriaWASHINGTON — The State Department says the Obama administration's special Middle East envoy is heading to Syria. State Department spokesman P.J.

June 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US Secretary of Defence, Robert Gates has warned that the terror threat emanating from Pakistan and Afghanistan is dangerous for the Gulf countries as well. Speaking at a conference of Defence Chiefs of 11 Gulf countries here, Gates warned that the middle-east countries cannot afford to neglect the threat posed by different extremist organizations breeding inside Pakistan and Afghanistan.

June 17th, 2009 LONDON - Iran is mastering nuclear technology and believes firmly in having the option of a nuclear weapon, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, said in a BBC interview Wednesday. "It is my gut feeling that Iran would like to have the technology to enable it to have nuclear weapons," ElBaradei said.

May 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan has said that it is ready to phase out its nuclear weapons if India too agrees to do the same. Terming Pakistan's nuclear arsenal as a 'deterrent' against India, Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States, Hussain Haqqani said Islamabad is willing to ink an accord with New Delhi in order to destroy the nukes possessed by the two neighboring countries.

May 17th, 2009 JERUSALEM - The International Atomic Energy Agency's outgoing chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, has said that Israel would be "utterly insane" to attack Iran. In an interview with German daily Der Spiegel, ElBaradei said: That would turn the region into one great fireball, and the Iranians would immediately begin building the bomb - with the support of the entire Islamic world." ElBaradei called on Teheran to take advantage of the US's newfound willingness to negotiate over the nuclear issue, The Jerusalem Post reported.

May 7th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Foreign Office on Thursday rubbished reports that Islamabad has shared information about its nukes with US authorities. Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters here that information about Pakistan's nukes is sacrosanct and could not be shared with any other country.

May 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Concerned by reports of an imminent threat to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal from the Taliban, US Senator Richard Luger has asked President Obama to force Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to ensure the safety of the nukes. According to The Nation, Senate foreign committee member, Luga,r urged Obama to ask Zardari to step up security for Pakistan's nuclear facilities.

April 23rd, 2009 TEL AVIV - Israel considers Pakistan as its biggest strategic threat rather than Iran. Expressing concern over the increasing Taliban threat in Pakistan, Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq were the three countries from which Israel faces an immediate threat.

March 10th, 2009 VIENNA - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei called Monday for Arab countries to help resolve the Iranian nuclear spat, which seems more achievable under the new US administration. 'The neighbours so far have been sitting on the fence,' he said during a speech in the Austrian Parliament in Vienna, hosted by the Austrian Society for Foreign Policy and International Relations.

January 20th, 2009 TEHRAN - Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said that new US President Barack Obama should try to understand the 'new Middle East which was emerging', Iran's IRNA news agency reported Wednesday. Mottaki Tuesday said that the traditional ways of looking into Middle East issues would no longer work.