Sharon ties disarming WMDs to ME peace

The Jewish state refuses to admit or deny it has nuclear weapons under a policy of "strategic ambiguity," but international experts estimate it has an arsenal of 100 to 200 warheads, making it one of the biggest atomic powers.

Sharon noted that longtime foe Libya had agreed to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction and Iran has come under international pressure to come clean on its atomic program.

"It could be that one day when we arrive at a comprehensive peace and everyone disarms completely, we will also be ready to consider taking steps," Sharon told a meeting of his right-wing Likud party in Tel Aviv.

But he said Israel still faced an "existential danger" from numerically superior regional enemies and that the United States, its main ally, had made clear the Jewish state "is not to be touched when it comes to its deterrent capability."