Saudi Arabia has promised to match the nuclear enrichment capabilities Iran is allowed under a possible deal with the West, raising fears of a regional arms race.
"Whatever the Iranians have, we will have, too," Saudi Prince Turki bin Faisal, the 70-year-old former intelligence chief, said at a recent conference.
The controversial agreement over Iran's nuclear weapons programme is expected to be signed soon, though its success is still far from guaranteed.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The six Arab powers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, are at a summit in the US, where Obama will attempt to reassure leaders that their security concerns are taken into account.
Saudi King Salman pulled out of the talks at the last minute, sending the crown prince instead, and although officials said the king had decided to remain in Riyadh to focus on the five-day ceasefire in Yemen, it has been interpreted by many as a deliberate snub over the Iran deal.
Saudi Arabia isn't alone in its desire to match Iran's nuclear capabilities. "Many of the smaller Arab states are now vowing to match whatever nuclear enrichment capability Iran is permitted to retain," says the New York Times.
"We can't sit back and be nowhere as Iran is allowed to retain much of its capability and amass its research," said one Arab leader ahead of the conference.
Obama's former nuclear advisor, Gary Samore, said a race was inevitable. "With or without a deal, there will be pressure for nuclear proliferation in the Middle East," he said "The question is one of capabilities. How would Saudis do this without help from the outside?"
The Times suggests that the kingdom might be forced to turn to Pakistan or North Korea to secure nuclear components. Although a deal with North Korea is highly unlikely, "it is widely presumed that Pakistan would provide Saudi Arabia with the technology, if not a weapon itself," says the newspaper.
-
Israel’s E1 zone in the West Bank: the death of the two-state solution?The Explainer Controversial new settlement in occupied territories makes future Palestinian state unviable, critics claim
-
What the new Making Tax Digital rules meanThe Explainer A new system will be introduced from April to overhaul how untaxed income is reported to HMRC
-
The former largest iceberg is turning blue. It’s a bad sign.Under the radar It is quickly melting away
-
Trump, Iran trade threats as protest deaths riseSpeed Read The death toll in Iran has surpassed 500
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Iran’s government rocked by protestsSpeed Read The death toll from protests sparked by the collapse of Iran’s currency has reached at least 19
-
Why is Iran facing its biggest protests in years?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Iranians are taking to the streets as a growing movement of civic unrest threatens a fragile stability
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
