Iran's Nuke Club accepts membership applications

The US and Israel are standing on increasingly shaky ground in the Middle East . . .

The head of the Arab League called on Arab states Tuesday to work toward "entering the nuclear club" by developing atomic energy - a new concern for a Western world already trying to rein in Iran's nuclear ambitions and fretting about a possible Mideast arms race.

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[Amr] Moussa spoke to the gathered leaders at the opening of the summit, saying, "I would like to call on the Arab world to enter into the world of peaceful use of nuclear energy with all speed and momentum."

"This is a legal right ensured for all states that are party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty," he said.

No Arab country is known to have a significant program for nuclear energy, and few have shown a drive to do so.

But Moussa's call was likely to cause concern in the United States and Europe, which are pressing for U.N. Security Council action on Iran's nuclear program.

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Countries close to Iran, including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, [both clients of the US] have expressed concern over its program, focussing on safety issues and the threat of a possible regional arms race. Moussa, an Egyptian, quarreled publicly with the Emirates' foreign minister after he urged Gulf leaders to focus on Israel, not Iran.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir accused the West of double standards on the nuclear issue.

"This is an issue which should not be a subject of discrimination. For the international community to be honest, Israel should be pushed to sign the Nonproliferation Treaty and open its nuclear installations for inspection," he said in a speech to the summit Tuesday.

Things just got a little more complicated.