Reply #6

Riyadh will build nuclear weapons if Iran gets them, Saudi prince warns

A senior Saudi Arabian diplomat and member of the ruling royal family has raised the spectre of nuclear conflict in the Middle East if Iran comes close to developing a nuclear weapon.

Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi intelligence chief and ambassador to Washington, warned senior Nato military officials that the existence of such a device "would compel Saudi Arabia … to pursue policies which could lead to untold and possibly dramatic consequences".

He did not state explicitly what these policies would be, but a senior official in Riyadh who is close to the prince said yesterday his message was clear.

"We cannot live in a situation where Iran has nuclear weapons and we don't. It's as simple as that," the official said. "If Iran develops a nuclear weapon, that will be unacceptable to us and we will have to follow suit."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/29/saudi-build-nuclear-weapons-iran


Saudi Arabia To 'Immediately' Go Nuclear Should Iran Develop Bomb

Saudi Arabia would immediately push to acquire nuclear weapons should Iran carry out a successfully nuclear test, according to a report in The Times.

Quoting an unnamed Saudi source, the newspapers said that Riyadh would launch a “twin-track nuclear weapons programme” should Tehran finally achieve their long-standing ambition of becoming a nuclear-armed power.

Since the Iranian revolution of 1979, Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia has suffered an uneasy relationship with their Shia neighbour, with religious, cultural and ideological divisions stretching back centuries.

Should Iran "go nuclear", the move would be seen by Riyadh as too great a threat, triggering an arms race in the Middle East.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/02/10/saudi-arabia-nuclear-bomb_n_1267571.html