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Saudi Arabia Considers Nuclear Weapons After Iran's Geneva Deal
[WORLD.TIME] As Middle Eastern nations attempted to elbow each other aside in their efforts to offer encouraging statements about the recently-concluded nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers on Sunday, Soddy Arabia...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... took its time. More than a day later the cabinet offered its own pallid take: "If there is good will, then this agreement could represent a preliminary step toward a comprehensive solution to the Iranian nuclear program." Behind the gritted-teeth delivery there lurked an almost palpable sense of frustration, betrayal and impotence as Saudi Arabia watched its foremost foe gain ground in a 34-year competition for influence in the region. As discussions leading up to the historic agreement in Geneva unfurled over the past several months, Saudi did its utmost to express its discontent, lobbying behind closed doors for greater restrictions on Iran's nuclear program and rejecting at the last minute a long-sought seat on the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... Security Council. Saudi officials even threatened to get their own nuclear weapons; just before the talks concluded the Saudi Ambassador to London, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, told The Times of London: "We are not going to sit idly by and receive a threat there and not think seriously how we can best defend our country and our region." "It's as if Saudi Arabia and Iran suddenly traded places," marvels Riyadh and Istanbul-based Saudi foreign affairs commentator Abdullah Al Shamri. "Now [U.S. President] Obama and [Iran's diminutive President] Rouhani are talking on the phone while their foreign ministers shake hands, and it's Saudi Arabia that is throwing the temper tantrums at the U.N., shouting about nuclear weapons and trying to show the world that they are angry." Posted by: Fred 2013-11-27 |
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