Saudi foreign minister: ‘All bets off’ if Iran gets nuclear weapon

By Reuters

Published: 12 Dec 2022

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Sunday that Iran’s Gulf neighbours would act to shore up their security if Tehran were to obtain nuclear weapons.

Indirect US-Iranian talks to salvage a 2015 nuclear pact between global powers and Iran, which Washington exited in 2018, stalled in September. The UN nuclear chief has voiced concern over a recent announcement by Tehran that it was boosting enrichment capacity.

« If Iran gets an operational nuclear weapon, all bets are off, » Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said in an on-stage interview at the World Policy Conference in Abu Dhabi when asked about such a scenario.

« We are in a very dangerous space in the region…you can expect that regional states will certainly look towards how they can ensure their own security. »

Though Riyadh remained « sceptical » about the Iran nuclear deal, Prince Faisal said it supported efforts to revive the pact « on condition that it be a starting point, not an end point » for a stronger deal with Tehran.

« The signs right now are not very positive unfortunately, » he said.

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