Iran: West’s silence on Israel’s expansion of Dimona eliminating non-proliferation credibility

Araghchi made the remark in a post on his X account on Friday after experts analyzing satellite imagery report that construction has intensified on a significant new building at a site central to Israel's nuclear weapons program, which they say could be a new reactor or a facility to assemble nuclear arms.

The work at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center near the city of Dimona will renew questions about Israel’s widely believed status as the only entity possessing nuclear bombs in West Asia.

In his post, Araghchi reiterated Iran’s continued warnings that the Western "hysteria" over nuclear proliferation in the West Asia region is “all fluff”.

“The issue, in their view, is not the existence—or expansion—of atomic weapon arsenals. It is about who gets to advance scientifically, even with peaceful nuclear programs,” the top Iranian diplomat wrote.

It is not a surprise, he continued, that "there is deafening Western silence over the apparent expansion of the only nuclear weapons arsenal in our region—the nukes in the hands of their genocidal ally."

“The E3 (Britain, France and Germany) and the US may be in denial, but their silence is eliminating any credibility to utter anything about non-proliferation,” Araghchi pointed out.

Images taken on July 5 by Planet Labs PBC show intensified construction at the site of the dig. Thick concrete retaining walls seem to be laid at the site, which appears to have multiple floors underground. Cranes loom overhead.

Zionist regime is widely believed to manufacture its nuclear weapons using a heavy water reactor, which produces plutonium for atomic bombs and tritium to boost their explosive yield.

Both the Zionist regime and its staunchest ally, the US, have declined to comment, adhering to Israel's policy of neither confirming nor denying the existence of its nuclear arsenal.

Zionist regime’s major construction at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center comes as the regime launched a blatant and unprovoked act of aggression against Iran on June 13, assassinating numerous high-ranking military commanders, nuclear scientists, and ordinary civilians.

More than a week later, the US joined the aggression by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites, an action which constitutes a grave violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Zionist regime is estimated to possess between 200 and 400 nuclear warheads, positioning it as sole possessor of non-conventional arms in West Asia.

However, it has consistently declined to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and has not permitted international inspections of its nuclear facilities amid enduring diplomatic support of the United States.