Fears that a nuclear Saudi Arabia will destabise the region. Trump’s secret support.

‘Alarm bells’: Saudi Arabia’s nuclear ambitions cast shadow over the region

Analysts fear Riyadh is seeking to develop the technical capabilities that would allow it to quickly pursue nuclear weapons, Middle Eastern Eye, By Maysam Behravesh,23 June 2019 “……. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, continues to receive extraordinary support from US President Donald Trump’s administration. …..Saudi Arabia’s nuclear and missile programmes are bound to have significant regional implications.

Earlier this month, Tim Kaine, Democratic senator from Virginia, revealed that the Trump administration had approved the transfer of nuclear know-how to Saudi Arabia seven times, including twice after the murder of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi in early October 2018.

One of the transfers was authorised on 18 October, only 16 days after Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was brutally eliminated inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to the US senator.

“The Trump administration is seeking to negotiate a nuclear cooperation agreement that would allow Saudi Arabia to use US technology for energy purposes, but not nuclear weapons,” Nicholas L Miller, professor of government at Dartmouth College, told Middle East Eye. ……

Trump’s ‘secret’ approval

In late March, the Reuters news agency disclosed the Trump administration’s “secret” approval of licences for six US firms to sell atomic power technology to Riyadh.

Simultaneously, the Saudis are seeking to develop a ballistic missile programme of their own, apparently with Chinese assistance.

In November 2018, satellite imagery taken by the US company Planet Labs showed what appeared to be rocket engine tests for ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons at a military base near the town of al-Dawadmi, about 230km west of Riyadh.

Several months later, in an exclusive report published on 5 June, CNN cited US intelligence sources as claiming that Riyadh had significantly advanced the missile programme with the help of China.

nterestingly, the discovery infuriated Democratic lawmakers as the White House had “deliberately” refrained from sharing its knowledge of the high-stakes development with key members of Congress until they found out about it “outside of regular US government channels”.

“Saudi Arabia’s development of ballistic missiles goes against long-standing US policy of opposing missile proliferation in the region,” said Miller.

“But the Trump administration has so far been relatively quiet about its response.

“There seems to be a pattern in this administration of looking the other way at provocative Saudi behaviour due to the laser-like focus on Iran.”

‘Reckless leadership in Riyadh’

Combined with bin Salman’s warnings that the kingdom would pursue atomic weapons if its chief nemesis Iran did, these concurrent and mostly clandestine missile and nuclear activities are sounding alarm bells in certain capitals in the region, not least Tehran.
“A nuclear Saudi Arabia means nuclear proliferation in the most unstable and volatile region of the world,” Ali Bakeer, a Turkey-based political analyst told MEE. “Given the reckless leadership in Riyadh, this is an alarming development for small states in the Gulf in particular, which might either seek a nuclear umbrella from great powers or consider constructing parallel deterrence capabilities of their own if they could afford it.”……….https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/alarm-bells-saudi-arabias-nuclear-ambitions-cast-shadow-over-region