Saudi Arabia may acquire nuclear weapons if Iran does

(Worthy News) – Saudi Arabia has announced it will consider obtaining nuclear weapons if Iran acquires them, the Times of Israel reports. The Saudi Minister for foreign affairs Adel al-Jubeir made the announcement during a recent interview with the German news agency DPA.

In an interview, Jubeir confirmed that nuclear armament was “definitely an option” for the Saudi Kingdom: “Saudi Arabia has made it very clear that it will do everything it can to protect its people and to protect its territories,” he said.

Jubeir added that if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, other countries will seek to obtain them as well, the Times of Israel reports. Therefore, Jubeir said, a strong stance should be taken against the Iranian regime. “We believe that the Iranians have only responded to pressure,” he said.

Considering itself the leader of Sunni states in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is in a violent struggle with leading Shiite power Iran for hegemony in the region, the Times of Israel notes. Both countries have fought through proxies in other countries, particularly in Yemen. Iran also has a powerful proxy in Syria – the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia is allied with the United Arab Emirates and with Bahrain, both of which signed normalization agreements with Israel recently. The Saudi Kingdom is also an ally of the US. Iran is allied with the Syrian regime and with Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza.

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