The Guardian:
Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has set out plans for Saudi Arabia to develop nuclear weapons if Tehran makes the same move in the event of a collapse of the international nuclear deal signed in 2015.
The prospect of a Middle East nuclear arms race will unnerve European leaders who are urging Donald Trump to retain the Iran nuclear deal which imposed strict curbs on the Iranian nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.
The Saudi crown prince is due in Washington on Monday, and is pressing the US to give it the reserved right to enrich uranium in return for Saudi Arabia choosing American nuclear technology. “Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclear bomb, but without a doubt, if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible,” bin Salman told CBS television.
Saudi Arabia wants initially to build two nuclear stations as part of its medium term program to wean itself off oil. It plans to build 16 civil nuclear stations over 20 to 25 years generating 16 gigawats of nuclear energy.
