Countries in the Gulf Arab area have begun to close ranks after suspicions emerged Iran manufacture nuclear weapons. Countries in the Arab region have said they will take the necessary steps to ensure regional security.
Reported Reuters, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (Menlu), Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, said on Monday (12/12/2022) that Gulf Arab countries would act to ensure security if Iran managed to obtain nuclear weapons. Prince Faisal acknowledged that the situation would be unstable if Tehran had nuclear weapons.
Indirect conversation between Iran and the United States (US) to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal between global powers and Tehran, known to have stalled since last September.
The United States is known to have abandoned the nuclear deal in 2018. Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) nuclear chief has also expressed concern over Iran’s latest announcement on increasing its uranium enrichment capacity.
“If Iran gets an operational nuclear weapon, all bets are off,” Prince Faisal said when asked about this scenario while attending the world political conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
He used an idiom for “the situation is uncertain and unpredictable” if Iran indeed has nuclear weapons.
“We are in a very dangerous situation in this region. It can be expected that the countries in the region will definitely try to figure out how to ensure their own security,” said Prince Faisal.
Nuclear talks have stalled and Western countries have accused Iran of making unreasonable demands. In recent times, attention has also shifted to the Russo-Ukrainian war and internal turmoil in Iran, sparked by the death of a young woman named Mahsa Amini.
Although Riyadh remains “skeptical” of the Iranian nuclear deal, Prince Faisal said his country supports efforts to revive the pact “provided it becomes a starting point, not an end point” for a stronger deal with Tehran.
The predominantly Sunni Gulf Arab states have pressed for a stronger deal to address concerns over Iran’s missile and drone programs. They also pressed for a stronger deal on Iran’s Shiite-dominated global network of proxies.
“Unfortunately, the signs are not very positive,” said Prince Faisal.
“We have heard from the Iranian people that they are not interested in a nuclear weapons programme, it would be very reassuring to believe that. We need more guarantees at that level,” said Prince Faisal.
Meanwhile, Iran insists its nuclear technology is exclusively for civilian purposes.
A senior Emirati official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was an opportunity to revise the “broad concept” of the nuclear deal in light of Tehran’s recent arms spotlight in which Western countries accused Russia to use Iranian drones to attack targets in Ukraine. Iran and Russia have denied the allegations.
Read more on the next page.
