Rouhani: "Four decades of efforts to establish nuclear weapon-free zones have failed"

Iran has urged Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Speaking at the UN General Assembly for the second time this week, President Hassan Rouhani called for a world disarmament conference to establish a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.

Calling for a "nuclear-free zone" in the Middle East, Rouhani said that Israel was the only country in the region that had not yet signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. 

"Almost four decades of international efforts to establish nuclear weapon-free zones have regrettably failed," he said. "Urgent, practical steps toward the establishment of such a zone are necessary. The international community has to redouble efforts in support of the establishment of this zone," Rouhani said. 

Israel is believed to possess anywhere from 75 to as many as 400 nuclear weapons, including thermonuclear weapons in the megaton range. Israel has always avoided confirming or denying whether it has nuclear weapons.