UN test ban head: Israel should ratify treaty within 5 years
UNITED NATIONS- Israel should ratify the nuclear test ban treaty within five years -- and Iran should also ratify but the timing is uncertain, the head of the UN organization established to implement the treaty said Wednesday.
Lassina Zerbo said in an interview with The Associated Press that he put no longer than five years as the limit "based on the positive sign that I'm seeing from Israel," where he met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time during a visit in June.
He cited the impact of last year's Iran nuclear deal in the Middle East for "creating the confidence-building conditions in the region to help others to move forward."
Zerbo said he has met Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif several times and the Iranians participate very actively in the test ban organization.
