In 1988, the international community became suspicious of Saudi nuclear proliferation after it purchased 36 CSS-2 intermediate-range ballistic missiles from China during the Iran-Iraq War. [15] Despite that, it has been secretly looking for the establishment of a scientific atomic center by the co-operation of Pakistan,[6][15] which can be associated with purchasing nuclear weapons from Pakistan. In October 2013, Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, told a conference in Sweden that if Iran got the bomb, "the Saudis will not wait one month. Iran is predominantly Shiite, while Saudi Arabia is mainly Sunni. In a document from the Department of Energys National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) each of the companies which received access requested that the NNSA withhold their authorization from public release. Much of this has come about due to a common enemy Iran. Revealed: Saudi Arabia may have enough uranium ore to produce nuclear fuel Confidential Chinese report seen by the Guardian intensifies concerns about possible Harang hailed the development as a At that point, not having nuclear weapons was suicide and the Iranian leadership would end up meeting the same fate as Milosevic, Saddam & Qaddafi. Conveniently for the Iranians, the Shias were in a majority in those exact provinces of Saudi Arabia that had all the oil (as well as in Iraq, Bahrain and parts of Yemen all ruled by Sunnis) and obviously got weaponized. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Ugc, via Agence France-Presse Getty Images. In fact, it is regarded as a Chinese liquid-fueled, single-stage, nuclear medium-range ballistic missile. According to a western official, the facility was built near the remote town The Iranian programme proceeded in hiccups, accelerating when a threat was felt and slowing down when the leaderships threat perception reduced. [31], In March, Donald Trump's administration approved a deal allowing Saudi Arabia access to nuclear secrets through the U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, with an approval known as Part 810 authorizations. ET. Its network spans countries around the world. With the discovery of massive uranium deposits on its territory, Saudi Arabia has made clear its intention to enrich uranium and build nuclear reactors, ostensibly for civilian purposes, with Chinas assistance, she said. Will a regional peace with the Arabs eliminate the threat of a Western regime change operation? The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication. Mr. Kanaani said the region would benefit from greater cooperation and good relations between Egypt and Iran. March 15, 2018 / 4:32 AM [2], Senior Clinton administration officials responsible for Mideast affairs at the time Khilewi sought asylum, including Robert Pelletreau of the State Department and Bruce Riedel of the National Security Council, said they found nothing in Khilewi's debriefings to back up the Media reports about a Saudi nuclear program. There are too many structural limits on how far any Saudi-Iranian rapprochement can go. The heir to the throne has ushered in significant changes for women in the conservative Sunni Muslim kingdom, including granting them the right to drive for the first time. Both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have denied the existence of any such agreement. Riyadhs [17], In 1988, the international community became suspicious of Saudi nuclear proliferation after it purchased 36 CSS-2 intermediate-range ballistic missiles from China during the Iran-Iraq War. In March 2006, the German magazine Cicero reported that Saudi Arabia had, since 2003, received assistance from Pakistan to acquire nuclear missiles and warheads. The Saudis have long been U.S. allies and enjoyed a close relationship with the Trump administration, but those efforts to overhaul the countrys image were tainted by the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. However, Saudi Arabia has also made moves to appease the US, announcing large aid packages to Ukraine, a US ally, in its war against Russia, and announcing a deal with Boeing last weekto build a fleet of new airliners which the White House praised. The shock of the Chinese diplomatic coup, which reflects Chinas growing diplomatic clout, has upset many U.S. policymakers and members of the U.S. elite because, with its ties to Iran, Beijing has done what the United States could not do and because it reflects increased Chinese influence in the oil-rich Middle East, he noted. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Saudi Arabia has invested in Pakistani nuclear weapons projects, and believes it could obtain atomic bombs at will, a variety of sources have told BBC Newsnight. "reportonbusiness.com: Purchase this article", "Atoms for Peace in the Persian Gulf: The Vital Byproduct of P5+1 Nuclear Agreement With Iran", "Saudi Arabia: Nervously Watching Pakistan: For the Saudi Arabia Kingdom, Pakistan remains a unique partner", "Saudi Arabia to acquire nuclear weapons to counter Iran", "Pakistan, Saudi Arabia in secret nuke pact", "Saudi nuclear weapons 'on order' from Pakistan", "Saudi Arabia banks on Pakistan for nukes: BBC report", "Saudi Arabia orders nuclear weapons to Pakistan", "Saudi Arabia, China sign nuclear cooperation deal", "Kingdom, China ink nuclear cooperation pact", "Back to Global Security Newswire Home About Global Security Newswire Contact Us China, Saudi Arabia Ink Atomic Collaboration Deal", "Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia", "US-UAE nuclear energy pact has messages for Iran", "Saudi defends Gulf Arab atom plans, criticizes Iran | International | Reuters", "Saudi Arabia May Seek Nuclear Weapons, Prince Says", "Saudi Arabia threatens to go nuclear if Iran does", "For Nations Seeking Nuclear Energy, The Option To Build A Weapon Remains A Feature Not A Bug", " .. ", "U.S. Approved secret nuclear power work for Saudi Arabia", "Nuclear Gulf: Is Saudi Arabia pushing itself into a nuclear trap? The underlying question is the potential for the future proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. "Create a lot of confusion where everyone keeps wondering what they're really up to, that's exactly the point.". [40], Newsweek quoted an anonymous source in 2014 that Saudi Arabia had acquired CSS-5 intermediate-range ballistic missiles from China in 2007 with "Washington's quiet approval on the condition that CIA technical experts could verify they were not designed to carry nuclear warheads". Iran has also been engaged in a bruising battle for regional dominance with Saudi Arabia, with which it severed relations seven years ago, engaging in a proxy war in Yemen and competing for influence in Lebanon and Syria. [Photo by Wang Jing / China Daily]. IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN: Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclear bomb, but without a doubt if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible. UN Concerned About Surge in Global Supply of Cocaine, The Urbanity of Evil: 20 Years After the Invasion of Iraq, Independent Commission Server and Other Election Day Stories, US Command Chief Wants to Help African Nations Find African Solutions, Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture, Forest, desertification, land degradation & biodiversity, Other Intergovernmental Organisations (IGOs), International Non-governmetal Organization (INGOs), Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, Saudi foreign minister: 'All bets off' if Iran gets nuclear weapon | Reuters, Frozen ice melts: China bridges Iran-Saudi ties in the new era - Tehran Times. At the center of the media negotiations was Iran International, a Saudi-owned and Washington-based Persian news channel, according to two Iranians familiar with the talks. The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. For years, Irans standing as a Mideast power has been battered on a number of fronts. Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclear bomb, but without a doubt if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible, he told CBS in 2018. The summit led to a rebuke from the White House, which said that China could not be trusted. Iran views the reconciliation with Saudi Arabia as a victory and a key part of a strategy to lower the temperature domestically and abroad, analysts said. read more. [7] Shortly thereafter, Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Sultan went with Prime Minister Sharif on a tour of a classified institute, the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL), where leading scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan briefed the Prince and Prime Minister Sharif on nuclear physics and sensitive issues involving nuclear explosive devices. Iran says its nuclear programme seeks only civilian atomic energy. [7], It is widely believed that Saudi Arabia has been a major financier of Pakistan's own integrated atomic bomb project since 1974, a program founded by former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. But will the JCPOA be revived or transformed, or will Iran and Saudi Arabia join Israel and get the bomb? Irans state news media reported on Friday that he will travel to Iraq next to sign a security pact. In 2011, Prince Turki al-Faisal, who has served as the Saudi intelligence chief and as ambassador to the United States has Image source: REUTERS / SPA / POOL via WANA / TIMA. Saudi Arabia was found heading as another country in the Arab region, after the United Arab Emirates, to begin its own nuclear energy programme. O'Donnell, a contributing correspondent for "60 Minutes," asked the 32-year-old crown prince about the political, economic and social reforms unfolding in his kingdom. This same question plays out everywhere Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen, pakistan. Security staff at London's Heathrow Airport voted on Friday to strike for 10 days, trade union Unite said. The crown prince discussed foreign policy, including his views on Saudi Arabia's longtime foe, Shiite Muslim-ruled Iran. In the final analysis it is safe to say that this watershed agreement is anything but. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. In order to soothe ties Iran will have to end up either abandoning Shias or reverting to unfavourable status-quos in all these geographies. Israel, for its part, has long considered Iran and its nuclear program as an existential threat, viewing Saudi Arabia as a potential partner. Saudi Arabia is a powerful regional player, considered a leader of the Sunni faith because of its custodianship of Islams holiest sites, and has close ties to the West. A man in Tehran holds a local newspaper reporting on its front page the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March 11, 2023, in Tehran, Iran. US officials have stated that they have no evidence of Saudi assistance to Iraqi nuclear development. Read all theLatest News,Trending News,Cricket News,Bollywood News, 8 min read. CNNC mentioned that this will explore 9 potential areas for the resources of uranium in Saudi Arabia. (Updated April 2022) Saudi Arabia has plans to establish a civil nuclear power industry. In 1998, the conservative Prime minister Nawaz Sharif informed Saudi Arabia confidentially before ordering the nuclear tests (see Chagai-I and Chagai-II) in the Weapon-testing labs-III (WTL) located in the Chagai remote site in Balochistan Province of Pakistan. [27] In the Senate Ed Markey and Marco Rubio introduced a bill, the Saudi Nuclear Proliferation Act, to block the deal. [42] The CSS-5, while it has a comparatively shorter range (2,800km) and half the payload (1 ton) of the CSS-2, is solid-fueled, thus can be set up and placed on alert status more easily than the liquid-fueled CSS-2, and its accuracy is much greater (circular error probable of 30 meters).[43]. It was in the midst of this war that Iran first considered going nuclear. MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN: Because he wants to expand. However, Mustafa Alani of the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center stated that, should the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty collapse, nuclear reactors such as those slated to be sold to the UAE under this agreement could provide the UAE with a path toward a nuclear weapon, raising the specter of further nuclear proliferation. According to a western official, the facility was built near the remote town of AlUla. Furthermore, in March/August 2017, the Saudi Arabia Geological Survey signed an agreement to a Chinese nuclear company (CNNC), and it was associated with co-operation on uranium exploration. WebNuclear Power in Saudi Arabia. Iran long used the Emirates to evade sanctions, but the standoff with Saudi Arabia a close ally of the Emirates on top of pressure from the United States had restricted those channels. Saudi Arabia has snubbed the US and drawn closer to rivals including China. The UAE would, in return, renounce their right to enrich uranium for their civilian nuclear program. Saudi crown prince is plotting to get US nuclear secrets by playing the White House, Russia, and China off against each other, report says. "Saudia [sic] Arabia working on secret nuclear program with Pakistan help report", Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, People's Republic of ChinaSaudi Arabia relations, King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Department of Energys National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia and weapons of mass destruction. China is interested in preventing nuclear weapons Below is a preview of O'Donnell's conversation with the crown prince, and above is a clip in which Mohammed explains why, in his view, Iran's supreme leader is behaving like Adolf Hitler during the rise of Nazi Germany. The development could shift security calculations in the Middle East and further complicate the Biden administrations efforts to coax Iran back into its nuclear deal with world powers. In recent months, Saudi Arabia has provoked the ire of the US, traditionally its closest international ally, while drawing closer to US adversaries including China and Russia. WebNuclear Power in Saudi Arabia. [4], In May 2008, the United States and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding, as part of the United States' vintage Atoms for Peace program, to boost Saudi efforts for a civilian nuclear program. Furthermore, Saudi royalty and other high-ranking officials have explicitly mentioned warnings in regards to their intention to obtain nuclear weapons if Iran were to come in possession of such weaponry. Iran has since ramped up some nuclear activities, putting a ticking clock on an attempt to return to a deal in talks between Western powers and Tehran in Vienna. 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