US State Dept nonproliferation official in Israel

The US sent a top official to Israel ahead of the international Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference ending Friday. The State Department confirmed that Thomas Countryman, the assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, had been in Israel to discuss the revival of talks on a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons. The UN Secretary seeks to organize a conference to pursue this issue. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed the visit but declined to comment on it, saying it was a “very sensitive” matter.