Nuclear security

Israel to ratify nuclear test ban treaty in 5 years - UN official

Israel will likely be the next country to ratify the nuclear test ban treaty, a UN official says, adding it that shouldn't take more than five years. The treaty is awaiting a greenlight from eight states, including the US, before it can come into effect.

“I'm putting five years as the longest it should take now based on the positive sign that I'm seeing from Israel,” Lassina Zerbo, the executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, (CTBTO), told AP on Wednesday.

The comments follow Zerbo's June visit to Israel, during which he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Zerbo went on to credit last year's Iran nuclear deal in the Middle East for “creating the confidence-building conditions in the region to help others to move forward.”