Israelis and Syrians reveal nuke plans

The rivals laid out their hopes at an international conference in Paris on civilian nuclear energy.

It raises the prospect that the countries' nuclear programmes could be internationally inspected to ensure that they don't cross the line into weapons programmes.

Iran, which has come under intense Western pressure to prove that its nuclear programme is peaceful, was not invited to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development conference.

Nor was the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which warned on Tuesday that it would continue to bolster its nuclear deterrent as long as it faced US military threats and provocations.

Israeli Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau said that any nuclear plants built in Israel would be subject to strict safety and security controls.

"Israel has always considered nuclear power to partially replace its dependence on coal," Mr Landau said.

The plan by Israel - long suspected of running a clandestine nuclear weapons programme - could finally force it to submit to International Atomic Energy Agency inspections.

Asked if Israel would allow inspectors to supervise any new project, Landau aide Chen Ben Lulu said only that Tel Aviv would follow "all the relevant rules."

Separately at the conference, Syria's deputy foreign minister Faysal Mekdad said that his country was looking at "alternative energy sources, including nuclear energy," to meet its growing demands for power.

"The peaceful application of nuclear energy should not be monopolised by the few that own this technology but should be available to all," Mr Mekdad insisted, noting Syria's growing population. He did not elaborate on any specific nuclear plans.

Unlike Syria, Israel has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which aims to limit the number of countries capable of developing nuclear weapons.

Of the two countries, Israel is much closer to actually developing nuclear energy in terms of know-how and infrastructure.

France previously helped Israel build a nuclear reactor at Dimona.

The country is believed to have used that reactor to construct a stockpile of nuclear weapons.

However Tel Aviv refuses to acknowledge being a nuclear power, following a policy that it calls "nuclear ambiguity."