In a tweet on his official page on Wednesday, Zarif remembered August 29 which marks International Day against Nuclear Tests and criticized the US as the sole user of nuclear weapons and Israel as the only possessor of nukes in the Middle East.
“As world marks Int'l Day against Nuclear Tests, let's remember that only nuclear bombs in our region belong to Israel and the US; the former a habitual aggressor & the latter the sole user of nukes. Let's also remember that Iran has called for Nuclear Weapon Free Zone since 1974,” said the tweet.
While it is widely believed that Israel possesses a sizable nuclear arsenal, there is no definite information about how big the stockpile is.
Israel is estimated to have 200 to 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal. The regime, which pursues a policy of so-called deliberate ambiguity about its nuclear bombs, however, refuses to either accept or deny having the weapons.
Supported by its staunch ally the US and other Western countries over its nuclear program, Israel also defies calls to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and put its nuclear program under the surveillance of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Iran, among the first countries to sign the NPT, has long called for the establishment of a nuke-free Middle East, describing Israel as the sole obstacle to the goal.
However, several efforts to convene a conference on a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction have failed as Israel’s allies, spearheaded by the US, have blocked the drive.