VIENNA — Arab nations and Israel are heading for a confrontation at a 154-nation nuclear meeting next month over an Arab initiative to criticize Israel's secretive atomic program.

Israel is universally assumed to have nuclear arms, and documents for the International Atomic Energy Agency's annual general conference show the Arabs seeking Israel's censure at that meeting.

The Arabs say Israel is thwarting "all initiatives to free the region of the Middle East of . . . of nuclear weapons." The Jewish state warns of a sideshow that deflects attention from what it says is "Iran's attempt to divert the attention of the international community . . . [from] its quest for nuclear weapons."

Iran denies wanting such arms and says all its nuclear activities are peaceful.