Saudi Arabia will develop nuclear weapons if its archrival Iran does so, the kingdom's crown prince said in remarks issued Thursday, raising the prospect of a nuclear arms race in a region already fraught with conflict.
"Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclear bomb, but without a doubt, if Iran develops a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible," Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told CBS in an interview that will air in full on Sunday.
The Sunni Muslim kingdom has been at loggerheads with Shiite Iran for decades. The countries have fought a long-running proxy war in the Middle East and beyond, backing rival sides in armed conflicts and political crises including in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
Mohammed downplayed Iran's power during the interview, saying that Iran was far from being a rival to Saudi Arabia.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi reacted harshly, saying the Saudi crown prince was a "delusional naive person" who doesn't understand politics, Iranian state TV reported on Thursday.
"He has no idea of politics apart from bitter talk that emanates from a lack of foresight. … His remarks do not deserve a response because he is a delusional, naive person, who never talks, but with lies and bitterness," Qasemi said.
Mohammed, who also serves as the Saudi defense minister, said last year that the kingdom would make sure any future conflict between the two countries "is waged in Iran," prompting Iranian threats to hit back at most of Saudi Arabia, with the exception of the holy Muslim cities of Mecca and Medina.
Riyadh has criticized the 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran, whereby economic sanctions on Iran were lifted in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear program. U.S. sanctions will be reinstated unless U.S. President Donald Trump issues fresh waivers to suspend them on May 12.
The comments by Mohammed, who at 32 is heir to the Saudi throne, also have implications for Israel, another U.S. ally that neither confirms nor denies the widespread assumption that it possesses the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal.
Israel has long argued that should Iran develop nuclear weapons, it would trigger similar projects among the Persian power's Arab rivals and further destabilize the region.
It has never joined the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has said it would consider inspections and controls under the NPT only if it was at peace with its Arab neighbors and Iran.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is stepping up plans to develop civilian nuclear energy capability as part of a reform plan led by Mohammed to reduce the economy's dependence on oil.
The world's top oil exporter has previously said it wants nuclear technology only for peaceful uses but has left unclear whether it also wants to enrich uranium to produce nuclear fuel, a process which can also be used in the production of atomic weapons.
The United States, South Korea, Russia, France and China are bidding on a multi-billion dollar tender to build the country's first two nuclear reactors.
Mohammed's comments, ahead of a trip to the United States next week, could impact the bid by a consortium that includes Toshiba-owned Westinghouse.
U.S. companies can usually transfer nuclear technology to another country only if the United States has signed an agreement with that country ruling out domestic uranium enrichment and the pre-processing of spent nuclear fuel – steps that can have military uses.
In previous talks, Saudi Arabia has refused to sign any agreement that would deprive it of the option of one day enriching uranium.
Reactors need uranium enriched to around 5% purity but the same technology in this process can also be used to enrich the heavy metal to a higher, weapons-grade level. This has been at the heart of Western and regional concerns over the nuclear work of Iran.
Riyadh approved a national policy for its atomic energy program on Tuesday, including limiting all nuclear activities to peaceful purposes, within the limits defined by international treaties.
