Monday
Aug242009
Israel Shock Announcement: Saudis Go Nuclear...All Tehran's Fault
Monday, August 24, 2009 at 14:57
The Latest from Iran (24 August): The 4-D Chess Match
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Last Saturday, the Saudi Arabian newspaper Al-Watan reported the statement of Saudi Arabia’s minister of water and electricity, Abdullah bin Abdul-Rahman al-Husayen, that Riyadh was looking at building its first nuclear power plant. The announcement follows a May 2008 US-Saudi Memorandum of Understanding on civil nuclear energy cooperation.
This all seems fairly straightforward. The Saudis, while sitting on oil reserves, diversify their energy production. The US bolsters a strategic alliance.
Except that, of course, in today's framing of the Middle East, everything has to be connected to Iran. Israeli defense officials immediately said that Saudi interest in nuclear power was connected to Tehran's continued quest for The Bomb: "The Saudis are genuinely scared of what will happen if Iran turns nuclear. This is part of their response."
Now Tel Aviv's defense officials probably know that the civilian nuclear programme of Saudi Arabia has been established jointly with the United States, since a Memorandum of Understanding isn't exactly secret, and has been developed within the framework of International Atomic Energy Agency regulations. But why pass up a pretext for showing the Iran-inspired “danger of the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East”? After all, you can convert not only Saudi Arabia's interest but that of the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Yemen, Morocco, Libya, Jordan, and Egypt into a fear-induced response to the bad boys in the Iranian capital.
Fun Fact 1: Iran has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel has not.
Fun Fact 2: Iran has 0 nuclear weapons. Israel has (estimated) 150.
Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis
Last Saturday, the Saudi Arabian newspaper Al-Watan reported the statement of Saudi Arabia’s minister of water and electricity, Abdullah bin Abdul-Rahman al-Husayen, that Riyadh was looking at building its first nuclear power plant. The announcement follows a May 2008 US-Saudi Memorandum of Understanding on civil nuclear energy cooperation.This all seems fairly straightforward. The Saudis, while sitting on oil reserves, diversify their energy production. The US bolsters a strategic alliance.
Except that, of course, in today's framing of the Middle East, everything has to be connected to Iran. Israeli defense officials immediately said that Saudi interest in nuclear power was connected to Tehran's continued quest for The Bomb: "The Saudis are genuinely scared of what will happen if Iran turns nuclear. This is part of their response."
Now Tel Aviv's defense officials probably know that the civilian nuclear programme of Saudi Arabia has been established jointly with the United States, since a Memorandum of Understanding isn't exactly secret, and has been developed within the framework of International Atomic Energy Agency regulations. But why pass up a pretext for showing the Iran-inspired “danger of the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East”? After all, you can convert not only Saudi Arabia's interest but that of the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Yemen, Morocco, Libya, Jordan, and Egypt into a fear-induced response to the bad boys in the Iranian capital.
Fun Fact 1: Iran has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel has not.
Fun Fact 2: Iran has 0 nuclear weapons. Israel has (estimated) 150.