What Would A Middle East Nuclear Arms Race Look Like?

As nuclear talks with Iran hang in the balance, Saudi Arabia has hinted that it may start building a nuclear arsenal of its own.

Analysts have since pointed out that negotiations with Iran have become proxy negotiations with all the Arab nations, who will want similar if not stronger programs outlined in any deal. Their ambitions threaten to spark a race in a Middle East that, as one expert puts it, lacks “adult supervision.”

Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Adel al-Jubeir told CNN last week that “Saudi Arabia will take whatever measures are necessary in order to protect its security,” and refused to rule out the option that the kingdom would try to build a nuclear bomb in the future. 

… 

David Andrew Weinberg, a scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, wrote Tuesday that Saudi Arabia’s most drastic and chaotic choice would be to acquire a “bomb off the shelf from Pakistan,” which may take place if the United States isolates Saudi security interests or is seen as giving Iran preferential treatment. Other neighboring countries, including Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, have made preliminary steps toward domestic nuclear power as well.

… 

Read full article here.