𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐢 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢 𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐫-𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝?

Several Israeli specialists have responded to comments made by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the enrichment of uranium for civilian use in the Kingdom. According to Tel Aviv University expert on Saudi and Gulf state issues, Nahum Sheila, Saudi Arabia is seeking American permission to enrich uranium on its soil for peaceful purposes. Sheila continued by saying that if Iran speeds up its nuclear program, Saudi Arabia will do the same, which would indicate that if Iran wants a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would stop waiting for American consent before trying to get one of its own. We will have a nuclear Middle East, Sheila said, because the civil nuclear program has the potential to morph into a military one under the right conditions.

Israeli Reichman University’s Institute of Policy and Strategy director and retired general Amos Gilad thinks Saudi Arabia wants a reactor to enrich nuclear fuel, not a nuclear energy program. He thinks Saudi Arabia wants to be able to move toward nuclear weapons on its own if Iran does, as that may lead to Turkey and Egypt following suit and Israel’s power image deteriorating.

Yehoshua Teitelbaum, a professor of history at Bar-Ilan University and a specialist in Middle Eastern studies, has claimed that Saudi Arabia has been doing research for years in order to develop a strategic weapon and build a powerful nation. He continued by saying that the Saudis’ requests for a nuclear weapon, a defense alliance, and the ability to procure weapons as swiftly as NATO countries themselves without going through Congress are more extensive than Israel’s requests for the same things.

@prognoz_nees