'Rules on nuclear issue have changed'

Occupied Jerusalem: Jordan's King Abdullah II told an Israeli newspaper yesterday that his country wants its own nuclear programme.

In an interview with the daily Haaretz, Abdullah said his desert kingdom, which borders Israel and has a peace agreement with it, wanted nuclear power 'for peaceful purposes' and was already discussing its plans with western countries.

"The rules governing the nuclear issue have changed in the entire region," the Jordanian leader told Haaretz, noting that Egypt and several Gulf states have declared their desire for a nuclear programme.

Though Jordan would rather see a Middle East free of nuclear weapons, he said, "every desire we had on this issue has changed."

It was the first time Abdullah spoke openly about desires for a Jordanian nuclear programme for peaceful purposes.

Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, would not comment. Shlomo Brom, a researcher at the Institute for National Strategic Studies and former head of strategic planning for the Israeli military, said Abdullah was likely not serious about developing a nuclear programme. "The Jordanians don't have the resources," Brom said.

Brom said the Jordanian king was probably trying to make the point that if Iran, which is moving ahead with its nuclear programme despite international protests and UN-imposed sanctions, is allowed to become a nuclear power, then a regional nuclear race will be unavoidable.

"Abdullah might be saying that if the Iranians aren't prevented from getting a nuclear programme, Jordan and everyone else will want one of their own," Brom said.

Israel fears that Iran's nuclear programme, which the Iranian government says is for civilian purposes, is actually intended to produce nuclear weapons that could be used against Israel.

Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has said Israel should be 'wiped off the map.' Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons of its own, but has never officially confirmed that it does.

In the Haaretz interview Abdullah said Iran, through its support for Hamas, had established a role for itself in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite its geographical and cultural distance.

"Through Hamas, Iran has been able to buy itself a seat on the table in talking about the Palestinian issue," he said.

"As a result, through Hamas it does play a role in the issue of the Palestinians, as strange as that should sound."

The king said that peace between Israel and the Palestinians was key to broader Middle East stability and should take precedence over the dispute between Israel and Syria.