In an op-ed published by The Guardian on Friday, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif called for an end to a nuclear arms race and a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.

“It is time for the ‘haves’ to finally come to terms with a crucial reality; we live in a globalised security environment. The cold war era asymmetry between states that possess nuclear weapons and those that don’t is no longer remotely tolerable,” Mr. Zarif wrote.

“For too long, it has been assumed that the insane concept of mutually assured destruction would sustain stability and non-proliferation. Nothing could be further from the truth,” he added.

In the piece, titled “Iran has signed a historic nuclear deal — now it’s Israel’s turn,” Mr. Zarif touted Iran’s cooperation with world powers to reach a deal to end its nuclear program and admonished Israel for refusing to do the same.

“And while Iran has received the support of some of its Arab friends in the endeavor, Israel — home to the Middle East’s only nuclear weapons program — has been the holdout,” Mr. Zarif wrote. “In the light of the historic nuclear deal, we must address this challenge head on.”

Israel has never confirmed whether it has nuclear weapons.

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