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Saudi prince slams Iran's nuclear program
The Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States denounced Iran's uranium enrichment program, but also criticized U.S. policy toward countries seeking nuclear weapons as inconsistent. Iran's pursuit of a nuclear program is worsening tension in the Middle East, Saudi  Prince Turki Faisal said in a speech late Wednesday. "It escalates the tensions, and brings about competition which is unneeded and unnecessary and uncalled for," Prince Turki told an audience of about 250 political and business leaders in a speech organized by the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations.Turki, 60, questioned the use of possessing weapons he said the Iranian people would never allow their leaders to use. "Where is Iran going to use these weapons?" he asked. "If their intention is to bomb Israel, then they will kill Palestinians, Syrians, Jordanians and Saudis, as well. If they intend to bomb the United States, for example, they will kill other people, as well. Where is the value of having a weapon of destruction that people know you are not going to use?" Prince Turki said Iranians support their government's uranium enrichment program partially because they see a double standard in U.S. policy. "They see the U.S. government negotiating with North Korea ... and they see the U.S. signing a nuclear peace agreement with India ... and they see the U.S. turning a blind eye completely to Israel, although Israel has the most nuclear weapons in our part of the world," he said. Faisal called on U.S. officials to advocate a totally nuclear-free Middle East instead of picking and choosing whose nuclear programs to oppose. Posted by: Fred 2006-02-10 |
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