AFP
Friday, December 8, 2006

Israel's reputed nuclear arms arsenal has provoked an atomic weapons race in the Middle East, a senior Saudi official said Friday in apparent reference to Iran.

"The fact that Israel has nuclear arms constitutes the most dangerous strategic threat for the security of the Gulf in the short and medium terms," said the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz.

"This has led certain countries in the region to take part in the contest for nuclear arms, as we are now seeing," he said in a speech to a Gulf security conference in Manama, without naming Iran.

The West suspects the Islamic republic is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge denied by Tehran.

The Jewish state is widely considered to be the Middle East's sole nuclear armed power, but has never confirmed or denied the suspicions, and continues to campaign against arch-foe Iran's nuclear programme.

"The spread of weapons of mass destruction in the region will make the security issues more complicated in the whole region," Saudi Arabia's chief of general intelligence warned.

"It will rather give the right for the countries in the region to adopt policies and to make alliances with the countries (which possess) nuclear technology," said the prince, whose speech was translated from the Arabic.

"It will also stimulate moderate countries in the region which adopt policies to eliminate weapons of mass destruction to (have) nuclear programmes, whether concealed or declared, aimed at creating military balance in the region in order to defend their interests, gains and beliefs."

He said, in answer to a question in English, that Saudi Arabia was "against any nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction in the whole region, including Israel".