VIENNA, Nov 26 (Reuters) - The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday he wanted Israel to dismantle its nuclear weapons arsenal and he believed all Middle Eastern states would benefit from ridding the region of nuclear weapons. Israel has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has never officially admitted to having the bomb. But non-proliferation analysts estimate Israel has between 100 and 200 nuclear weapons. Asked about a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom last week, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei hinted Israel should sign the NPT, the global pact designed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. "We obviously discussed...efforts to try to move forward toward application of safeguards (on) all nuclear activities in the Middle East, including in Israel, and the possibility of moving forward toward establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East," he told reporters. The U.N. General Assembly and IAEA General Conference have adopted 13 resolutions since 1987 appealing to Israel to sign the NPT and all have been ignored. "In my view every country in the Middle East, including Israel, will benefit from establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East as part and parcel of a comprehensive peace in the region," ElBaradei said. Since the 1991 discovery and later dismantling of Iraq's secret nuclear weapons programme, Iran is the only Middle Eastern country suspected of developing nuclear weapons -- apart from Israel. Pakistan and India have nuclear weapons and have not signed the NPT. North Korea is suspected of having built at least one atom bomb and withdrew from the NPT on New Year's Eve last year.
