Saudi Ambassador Threatens: All Options on the Table if No Nuclear Agreement

The Saudi ambassador to London warned the Islamic Republic that 'all options are on the table' for Saudi Arabia regarding a potential nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group in an interview published on Monday. Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, in his exclusive interview with the British newspaper Telegraph, expressed support for any diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear issue, provided that the agreement with Tehran is 'precise, clear, and unconditional.' The ambassador stated, 'We appreciate the efforts of the U.S. President in this regard, as long as any potential agreement is precise and clear and does not give Iran a license to continue destabilizing policies in the region.' The Saudi ambassador further threatened that if such an agreement is not reached, 'all options are on the table' for Saudi Arabia. This threat implies that if diplomatic efforts to halt Iran's suspicious nuclear activities fail, Saudi Arabia is prepared to 'seek nuclear weapons' itself. According to this senior Saudi official, any potential nuclear agreement with Iran must include a 'guarantee' that Tehran 'will never seek such weapons.' According to the Telegraph, citing 'Western intelligence agencies,' Saudi Arabia has covered about 60% of the costs of Pakistan's nuclear program to be able to receive nuclear warheads from Pakistan whenever it deems necessary. In recent months, especially after the Houthi minority captured Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia have become tense, and with the continued Saudi military intervention in Yemen, the scope of this tension has expanded. Riyadh accuses Tehran of interfering in its affairs by providing military and arms support to the Shia Houthis, with whom it shares no common border. Saudi Arabia has nearly 800 kilometers of common border with Yemen, and in recent weeks, unrest and battles have spilled over from Yemen into Saudi territory. In contrast, the Islamic Republic accuses Saudi Arabia of seeking to 'marginalize' Iran in the region, a charge that the Saudi ambassador in London implicitly rejected, stating that his country has no ambitions for dominance in the region. The threat from the Saudi ambassador comes at a time when less than three weeks remain until the deadline for reaching a nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group, which consists of the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany. Diplomats from the six global powers have until the end of this month to compel Iran to give up key parts of its uranium enrichment program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions that have inflicted billion-dollar blows on Iran's economy. According to the Saudi ambassador in London, Iran's nuclear program poses a 'direct threat' to the entire Middle East and could be 'one of the main motivations for the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East and in Israel.' Saudi suspicions and distrust towards the Islamic Republic have escalated to the extent that Riyadh has moved closer to Israel in this regard.