Iran nuclear deal: Saudi Arabia warns it will strike out on its own

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Iran nuclear deal: Saudi Arabia warns it will strike out on its own - Telegraph


Geez, I wonder why the Saudis bought all those who knows how many nukes from Pakistan?

By Damien McElroy

11:41AM GMT 25 Nov 2013

A senior advisor to the Saudi royal family has accused its Western allies of deceiving the oil rich kingdom in striking the nuclear accord with Iran and said Riyadh would follow an independent foreign policy.

Nawaf Obaid told a think tank meeting in London that Saudi Arabia was determined to pursue its own foreign and policy goals. Having in the past been reactive to events, the leading Sunni Muslim nation was determined to be pro-active in future.

Mr Obaid said that while Saudi Arabia knew that the US was talking directly to Iran through a channel in the Gulf state of Oman, Washington had not directly briefed its ally.

"We were lied to, things were hidden from us," he said. "The problem is not with the deal struck in Geneva but how it was done."
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In a statement the Saudi government gave a cautious welcome to the Geneva nuclear deal. It said "good intentions" could lead to a comprehensive agreement on Tehran's atomic programme. "This agreement could be a first step towards a comprehensive solution for Iran's nuclear programme, if there are good intentions," the Saudi government said

But it warned that a comprehensive solution should lead to the "removal of all weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear, from the Middle East and the Gulf".

A fellow of Harvard University's Belfer Centre and adviser to Prince Mohammad, the Saudi ambassador to London, Mr Obaid said Saudi Arabia would continue to resist Iranian involvement in the Syrian civil war. In particular he pointed to Iranian Revolutionary Guards involvement in battles in Syria on behalf of the regime.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton (L) hugs French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius

"[Saudi Arabia] will be there to stop them wherever they are in Arab countries," he said. "We cannot accept Revolutionary Guards running round Homs."

Saudi Arabia's fury at the diplomatic detente with Iran is commonly held with Israel. While both countries are in the same posion Saudi Arabia disavows any suggestion of an open alliance. Until the Palestinians have a state, Saudi Arabia will not work with Israel.

Saudi Arabia is increasingly at odds with Washington over Syria. It rejected a seat on the UN Security Council in protest at the body's failure to "save" Syria.

Qatar is the latest Gulf Arab state to welcome the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, calling it a step toward greater stability in the region.

Saudi Arabia, has previously expressed unease about US overtures to Iran. The dialogue helped pushed along efforts by Washington and others to strike a deal with Iran seeking to ease Western concerns that Tehran could move toward nuclear weapons.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry said the deal is an "important step toward safeguarding peace and stability in the region".

Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have issued similar statements.

 

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[cmaracing]

Good, let Saudi Arabia watch its own A##, we complain that the U.S. needs to stop policing the world, now that U.S. have said screw-it, we will go along with other nations, now we are in the wrong, Saudi Arabia has caused us more headaches, from the 911 hijackers to the The Khobar Towers bombing were they left our solders defenseless..

 

[packerbacker]

Israel has already stated that the deal doesn't involve them. They won't be held to any restrictions when it comes to protecting themselves.

 

[UncleMatt]

3=2 lol

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Keep thread on topic off topic posts and quotes will be deleted

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

what can the Saudi do? send in 25 guys to highjack a couple of large aircraft?

 

[Unclebuck257]

Even some Democrats like Schumer are saying this deal with Iran is a bad deal and that the US didn't get much from it. I really don't give a flip what the Saudis think because I trust them almost as little as I trust Iran, but what and how it affects the Israelis is something that concerns me. Again, in my opinion, Obammy's Admin sold out our allies and helped our enemies!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

SC, like I said in the initial post, if you missed the news, the Saudis have nukes now. And I read yesterday that the Israelis were inspecting Saudi airfields for use in striking Iran - mortal enemy of both nations.

The reality of this thread is that we got some very dangerous times in that little corner of the world.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Saudi Arabia said to have bought nukes from Pakistan | The Times of Israel

Saudi Arabia may be prepared to field nuclear bombs it has purchased from Pakistan in response to Iran’s alleged military nuclear program, and may already have deployed missile systems capable of delivering the bombs, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

According to Mark Urban, diplomatic and defense editor for the BBC’s Newsnight, there are suggestions that the Saudis have paid for a number of nuclear weapons that are ready and waiting in Pakistan. If the reports are accurate, the kingdom could have atomic weapons on its missiles even before Iran has that capability.

Urban said it was an assessment shared by the former head of the IDF’s head of intelligence, Amos Yadlin, and cited comments Yadlin made to that effect at a conference in Sweden last month.

“The Saudis will not wait one month,” Yadlin reportedly said. “They already paid for the bomb, they will go to Pakistan and bring what they need to bring.”

Another source, described as “a senior NATO decision maker,” told Urban earlier this year of an intelligence report about Pakistani-made nuclear weapons ready for delivery to the kingdom.

Since 2009 Saudi Arabia has been sending clear warnings to the US that it will not sit back and let Iran go nuclear.

“I do think that the Saudis believe that they have some understanding with Pakistan that, in extremis,” they would be able to get nuclear weapons from Pakistan, Gary Samore, who until May this year was US President Barack Obama’s counter-proliferation adviser, was quoted as saying.

The Saudis already have the means to deliver nuclear weapons after acquiring Chinese-made CSS-2 missiles during the 1980s. The missiles, which have a range of over 2,500 kilometers, can be armed with nuclear warheads. In addition, it has been clear for many years that Saudi Arabia was funding the Pakistani defense establishment, the report said.

“What did we think the Saudis were giving us all that money for?” a senior Pakistan official was quoted as saying. “It wasn’t charity.”

The report did not say whether the warheads would simply be handed over to the Saudis, or if Pakistani military units would be deployed in the kingdom to oversee their use, although it suggested that Pakistani-made Shaheen (Falcon) ballistic missiles were already stationed in Saudia Arabia, minus their warheads.

In an email to the BBC, Yadlin left no doubt as to his take on the gravity of the prospect of a nuclear-armed Saudi Arabia.

“Unlike other potential regional threats, the Saudi one is very credible and imminent,” he wrote.

Officially, both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia denied the reports. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry told the BBC in a statement that the report of nuclear bombs ready and waiting was “speculative, mischievous and baseless.”

“Pakistan is a responsible nuclear weapon state with robust command and control structures and comprehensive export controls,” the statement said.

The Saudi Arabian embassy in London similarly rejected the suggestion and noted that the kingdom was signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The embassy added that Saudi Arabia had rejected an offer to take a seat on the United Nations Security Council due, among other reasons, to the failure to keep the Middle East free of nuclear weapons.