“The Zionist regime (Israel) is still armed with chemical and nuclear weapons, and the action taken by the Syrian government should leave no pretexts for the Zionist regime, and Israel should accept to get disarmed,” Zarif said on Thursday.

Zarif, who is currently in New York to participate in the United Nation’s 68th General Assembly meeting, welcomed Syria’s decision to join the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), expressing pleasure that the move has initiated a step toward ridding the region of WMDs.

He also emphasized that the Syrian decision was a positive accomplishment that averted another war in the region, adding that efforts should be made to set the stage for peace in the Arab country.

Syria President Bashar Assad said Israel should be the first to disarm from weapons of mass destructions, since it has nuclear, biological and chemical arms.

Israel is believed to have secretly developed a range of chemical weapons in the 1960s and 70s, a "secret 1983 CIA intelligence estimate" says.

The document also says, "Other CW production is believed to exist within a well-developed Israeli chemical industry."

NTJ/NJF