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Saudi Deal Could Mean Possible Eruption of Nuclear Arms Race

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Pakistani nuclear facility.  Senior officials in the Arab world have recently advised the White House that the Saudi government could seek Pakistan’s help in developing nuclear technologies or even purchase an atomic bomb
Pakistani nuclear facility. Senior officials in the Arab world have recently advised the White House that the Saudi government could seek Pakistan’s help in developing nuclear technologies or even purchase an atomic bomb
As the United States and Iran work towards hammering out an agreement on the future limitations of Tehran’s nuclear program, published reports reveal that Saudi Arabia signed its own nuclear cooperation agreement with South Korea . Reportedly, it was conducted in a low key manner; thus eluding the watchful eye of the media.

The agreement has escalated concerns in Washington and among the P5+1 nations because they now view that a deal with Iran could possibly serve to refuel their nuclear ambitions rather than deterring them.

According to a report in the WSJ, Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former intelligence chief of Saudi Arabia and a member of the royal family has issued public warnings in recent months that Riyadh “will seek to match the nuclear capabilities Iran is allowed to maintain as part of any final agreement reached with world powers.” The report noted that this could possibly include “the ability to enrich uranium and to harvest the weapons-grade plutonium discharged in a nuclear reactor’s spent fuel.”

Undoubtedly, concerns abound among US and Arab officials as the Saudi agreement with South Korea raises the specter of a possible eruption of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. This is particularly due to the animus between Saudi Arabia and Iran which has been evidenced in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen in recent months.

According to Saudi state media as was reported in the WSJ, the memorandum of understanding between Saudi Arabia and South Korea “includes a plan to study the feasibility of building two nuclear reactors worth $2 billion” in Saudi Arabia over the next two decades.

US officials both past and present have indicated that their concerns focus on the decades long military alliance that Saudi Arabia has maintained with Pakistan. The latter is a nuclear armed state with a “history of proliferating military technologies” according to the WSJ report.

Senior officials in the Arab world have recently advised the White House that the Saudi government could seek Pakistan’s help in developing nuclear technologies or even purchase an atomic bomb “If it sees that a deal with Iran is too weak,” according to the WSJ report.

The report quoted former State Department official Robert Einhorn who said that, “The Saudis privately say they can get help from Pakistan. I’ve never seen evidence, though, that there is a formal understanding.” Einhorn had taken part in previous negotiations with Iran while working in both the Clinton and Obama administrations.

WikiLeaks had published a US diplomatic cable from December of 2007, according to the WSJ report, that quoted Pakistani officials who said it was “logical for the Saudis to step in as the physical protector” of Sunni countries if a real threat were to be posed by Iran.

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