Iran to Saudis: Don’t Scapegoat Others for Nuke Plan
RIYADH (Dispatches) -- Saudi Arabia’s hardline minister of state for foreign affairs says the kingdom reserves the right to arm itself with nuclear weapons if Iran cannot be stopped from maintaining its nuclear energy program.
"It’s definitely an option,” Adel al-Jubeir told the DPA news agency in a recent interview. "And Saudi Arabia has made it very clear, that it will do everything it can to protect its people and to protect its territories.”
Tehran has been working on the use of nuclear power for decades. In 2015, it signed a landmark nuclear deal with world powers which confirmed along with the United Nations the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.
But U.S President Donald Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew his country from the deal and brought it to the brink of failure.
"We believe the Iranians have only responded to pressure,” said al-Jubeir.
Asked what changes he anticipates could come once President-elect Joe Biden takes charge in January, he said: "We will have to see.”
Biden has promised to return to the nuclear deal.
Last week, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud called for a "decisive stance” to address Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.
In response, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh called on the kingdom to refrain from "baseless allegations and hate-mongering”.
Iran’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna condemned Jubeir’s remarks, saying Riyadh should stop its blame game and instead cooperate with the UN atomic energy agency over its non-transparent nuclear program.
In tweets posted late on Tuesday, Kazem Gharibabadi wrote, "Scapegoating and fearmongering are two common and classic methods used by demagogues!”
"If you want to pursue a nuclear weapon program, or you are seeking for an excuse to justify your lack of cooperation with the IAEA or your outdated safeguard system, at least have the courage to admit it and pay the price for it, don’t blame
your wrongdoings on others by lies,” he added.
Riyadh’s nuclear ambitions have become a source of heightened concern for the global community in recent years, especially after Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman first hinted in 2018 that the kingdom may go for nuclear weapons.
The kingdom has so far kept its nuclear activities secret, defying calls for it to implement the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements, a system of inspection and verification of the peaceful uses of nuclear materials.
Reports about Saudi Arabia’s undeclared nuclear activities were confirmed earlier this year by satellite images, which showed a large compound in a suspicious location in the heart of the desert.
Citing Western officials, the Wall Street Journal reported in early August that Saudi Arabia, with Chinese help, has built a facility for extraction of yellowcake from uranium ore near the remote town of Al-Ula.
The New York Times also said American intelligence agencies had spotted what appeared to be an undeclared nuclear site not too far from the town of Al-Uyaynah, located 30 kilometers northwest of Riyadh, and its Solar Village.
The agencies, the report said, are scrutinizing attempts by the kingdom to build up ability to produce nuclear fuel that could potentially lead to the development of nuclear weapons.
Unlike Saudi Arabia, Iran showed the peaceful nature of its nuclear program to the world by signing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with six world states — namely the United States, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China — in 2015. The nuclear deal was also ratified in the form of a UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
"It’s definitely an option,” Adel al-Jubeir told the DPA news agency in a recent interview. "And Saudi Arabia has made it very clear, that it will do everything it can to protect its people and to protect its territories.”
Tehran has been working on the use of nuclear power for decades. In 2015, it signed a landmark nuclear deal with world powers which confirmed along with the United Nations the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.
But U.S President Donald Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew his country from the deal and brought it to the brink of failure.
"We believe the Iranians have only responded to pressure,” said al-Jubeir.
Asked what changes he anticipates could come once President-elect Joe Biden takes charge in January, he said: "We will have to see.”
Biden has promised to return to the nuclear deal.
Last week, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud called for a "decisive stance” to address Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.
In response, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh called on the kingdom to refrain from "baseless allegations and hate-mongering”.
Iran’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna condemned Jubeir’s remarks, saying Riyadh should stop its blame game and instead cooperate with the UN atomic energy agency over its non-transparent nuclear program.
In tweets posted late on Tuesday, Kazem Gharibabadi wrote, "Scapegoating and fearmongering are two common and classic methods used by demagogues!”
"If you want to pursue a nuclear weapon program, or you are seeking for an excuse to justify your lack of cooperation with the IAEA or your outdated safeguard system, at least have the courage to admit it and pay the price for it, don’t blame
your wrongdoings on others by lies,” he added.
Riyadh’s nuclear ambitions have become a source of heightened concern for the global community in recent years, especially after Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman first hinted in 2018 that the kingdom may go for nuclear weapons.
The kingdom has so far kept its nuclear activities secret, defying calls for it to implement the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements, a system of inspection and verification of the peaceful uses of nuclear materials.
Reports about Saudi Arabia’s undeclared nuclear activities were confirmed earlier this year by satellite images, which showed a large compound in a suspicious location in the heart of the desert.
Citing Western officials, the Wall Street Journal reported in early August that Saudi Arabia, with Chinese help, has built a facility for extraction of yellowcake from uranium ore near the remote town of Al-Ula.
The New York Times also said American intelligence agencies had spotted what appeared to be an undeclared nuclear site not too far from the town of Al-Uyaynah, located 30 kilometers northwest of Riyadh, and its Solar Village.
The agencies, the report said, are scrutinizing attempts by the kingdom to build up ability to produce nuclear fuel that could potentially lead to the development of nuclear weapons.
Unlike Saudi Arabia, Iran showed the peaceful nature of its nuclear program to the world by signing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with six world states — namely the United States, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China — in 2015. The nuclear deal was also ratified in the form of a UN Security Council Resolution 2231.