After becoming increasingly fearful of a nuclear-armed Iran, reports have stated that Saudi Arabia intends on purchasing nuclear weapons from Pakistan, following a week where some of the Kingdom’s high-ranking officials attended a Gulf summit organized by U.S. President Barack Obama.
On Sunday, the Sunday Times of London reported that the Saudis have made the “strategic decision” to acquire nukes straight “off-the-shelf’ from Islamabad, American sources told the paper.
The aggressive move may suggest that President Obama failed in his mission to dissuade Riyadh’s concerns over a nuclear deal with Iran. One of the primary purposes of the Camp David summit for Gulf leaders was to try and ensure the Arab states that the United States would be able to stop Iran from building nukes.
It appears as if Saudi leadership hasn’t been convinced of Obama’s efforts. Noticeably, the Saudi King did not attend the Gulf summit. The move was interpreted by some as a “snub,” seemingly directed at the U.S. President to show dissatisfaction with engaging the rogue regime in Tehran.
“For the Saudis the moment has come, an unnamed former US defense official told the Sunday Times. “There has been a longstanding place with the Pakistanis and the House of Saud has now made the strategic decision to move forward.
The Saudis shouldn’t have too many hurdles when it comes to purchasing Pakistani nukes, as Riyadh helped finance much of its nuclear program, western officials have stated.
“Nuclear weapons programs are extremely expensive and there’s no question that a lot of the funding of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program was provided by Saudi Arabia,” Lord David Owen told the Sunday Times.
“Given their close relations and close military links, it’s long been assumed that if the Saudis wanted, they would call in a commitment, moral or otherwise, for Pakistan to supply them immediately with nuclear warheads,” he added.
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