Egypt Protests EU Vote on Nuclear Free Zone

Egypt has sent a high level protest to dozens of European nations expressing astonishment and regret at their refusal to endorse Cairo's call for a Middle East Nuclear Free Zone at a conference last month. The October 4 letter, made available Wednesday to The Associated Press, was signed by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and asked for an explanation. Other Muslim nations and Egypt consider Israel the main nuclear threat in the region. The US and its allies see Iran's defiance of the UN Security Council in its development of technology that could be used to make the bomb, as the greatest menace to Middle East peace.