*RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will seek to develop its own nuclear weapons if Irandoes, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told CNN on Wednesday.*
Asked whether Riyadh would “build a bomb itself” if Tehran seizes onWashington’s withdrawal from the 2015 Iran deal to resume a nuclear weaponsprogram, Jubeir said: “If Iran acquires nuclear capability we will doeverything we can to do the same.”
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has long said it would match any Iranian weaponsdevelopment, but Jubeir’s renewed vow came after US President Donald Trumppulled the United States out of an accord designed to prevent Tehran’salleged quest for the bomb.
Riyadh, which leads a regional coalition that intervened in Yemen’s civilwar to fight the Huthis, accuses Iran of supplying the militia withballistic missiles.
“These missiles are Iranian manufactured and delivered to the Huthis. Suchbehavior is unacceptable. It violates UN Resolutions with regards toballistic missiles. And the Iranians must be held accountable for this,”Jubeir told CNN.
“We will find the right way and at the right time to respond to this,” hewarned. “We are trying to avoid at all costs direct military action withIran, but Iran’s behavior such as this cannot continue. This amounts to adeclaration of war.” – APP/AFP