US rejects nuclear disarmament document over Israel concerns


The United States is rejecting a global document toward ridding the world of nuclear weapons, saying Egypt and other states "cynically manipulated" the process by trying to set a deadline for Israel and its neighbors to meet within months on a Middle East zone free of such weapons.The final document of a landmark treaty review conference Friday would call on the U.N. secretary-general to convene the conference no later than March 2016, regardless of whether Israel and its neighbors agree on an agenda.Israel is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has never publicly declared what is widely considered to be an extensive nuclear weapons program.A conference might force Israel to acknowledge it.Discussions on the draft document are continuing after a request from Iran.