"We have agreed to hold a forum on creation of nuclear-free zones in the world, especially in the Middle East, in January 2005 in Vienna," ElBaradei said after talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit.

"With the participation of Arab states, Israel and other countries in the region, the forum will be an occasion to open talks on the necessary conditions for the creation of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East," he said.

ElBaradei added: "The IAEA is prepared to send observers to Egypt and Jordan to monitor whether there is any evidence of nuclear radiation emanating from Israel."

The press in the Arab world has for several weeks expressed fears of contamination from the Israeli nuclear power plant in Dimona, in the southern Negev desert.

Egyptian newspapers have even written of the dangers for the region of Israel burying nuclear waste in the Gaza Strip.

The question of radiation from the Dimona plant "should not be linked to the observation by Israel of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) nor inspection by the IAEA of Israel's nuclear activity", ElBaradei added.

It was necessary to distinguish between questions concerning nuclear development for military purposes and the question of safety, he said.

Israel has refused to discuss the question of regional safety arising out of its nuclear programme before reaching a peace agreement with its Arab neighbours. It remains one of the few countries not to have signed the NPT and will not allow inspection of the reactor at Dimona.

WAR.WIRE