(UnitedVoice.com) – One of President Joe Biden’s primary goals since taking office has been to restart the nuclear arms deal with Iran, which former President Donald Trump suspended over suspicions the Islamic state was cheating. Unfortunately for Biden, the negotiations are falling apart. Now, a key US ally in the region has issued its own warning about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
On December 11, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, spoke at the World Policy Conference in Abu Dhabi. One of the questions he faced was what would happen if Iran succeeded in producing a nuclear weapon. According to Newsmax, his response was blunt — “All bets are off,” according to Newsmax.
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Sunday that Iran's Gulf Arab neighbors would act to shore up their security if Tehran were to obtain nuclear weapons. https://t.co/vwwlEvUSgA
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) December 11, 2022
Prince Faisal went on to explain that the Gulf region is “a very dangerous space,” and if Iran goes nuclear, its neighbors will take steps to defend themselves. For most of the Persian Gulf states, that wouldn’t be easy; none of them have a nuclear weapons industry, and it would take years to develop one, even for wealthy oil exporters.
Saudi Arabia has an advantage, though. The Kingdom supplied much of the funding for Pakistan’s nuclear program, aiming to create a “Sunni bomb” to balance the threat of Iran’s Shia regime building its own, according to the BBC. Rumors abound for almost a decade that the Saudis conditioned the funding on Pakistan supplying the Kingdom with nuclear weapons if it needed them — and have the weapons ready for shipment.
The Saudis haven’t been shy about letting the US know their plans, either. If the religious rivals arm themselves with nuclear weapons, the Gulf will likely become even more dangerous than it is now.
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