Abdullah II: "Israel" Disrupts Jordan’s Nuclear Plans

Jordanian King Abdullah II accused Wednesday "Israel" of disrupting Jordan's nuclear energy plans.

In an interview with Agence France Presse, the king announced that "strong opposition to Jordan's nuclear energy program is coming from "Israel"."

"When we started going down the road of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, we approached some highly responsible countries to work with us. And pretty soon we realized that "Israel" was putting pressure on those countries to disrupt any cooperation with us," Abdullah II stated.

He further unveiled that "the Jordanian delegation would approach a potential partner, and one week later an "Israeli" delegation would be there, asking our interlocutors not to support Jordan's nuclear energy bid."

"Against this backdrop, I feel that those who oppose our peaceful nuclear program for all the wrong reasons are furthering Israeli interests more efficiently than Israel could ever do," the king said.

Meanwhile, an "Israeli" official described the king's accusations by saying: " They sound (like) a hollow excuse."

"We were consulted and we always said that of course if this was done according to NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) regulations and supervision and everything, then fine, we have no objection."

Jordan, which imports 95 percent of its energy needs, is struggling to find alternatives to Egyptian gas, which normally covers 80 percent of power production.

Since 2011, the gas pipeline from Egypt to both "Israel" and Jordan has been attacked 14 times, with a consequent disruption of supplies.

With 92 percent of its territory desert, Jordan is one of the world's 10 driest countries and wants atomic energy to power desalination plants to overcome a crippling water shortage.

"Nuclear energy will be the cheapest reliable way to desalinate water," the king said.

On the Syrian crisis, the king warned of a spillover of the Syrian turmoil into its neighbors, saying the risk is "looming closer."

"I am extremely worried about the risk of a fragmentation of Syria," he said and noted that "over the past few months we have witnessed an increase in sectarian violence," he said.

The king called for "a formula for a political transition where all components of Syrian society, including the Alawites, feel that they have a stake in the country's future."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org