MOSCOW – Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that Saudi Arabia willdevelop its own nuclear weapons if Iran decides to renew its nuclearweapons program. Radio Sputnik discussed issue with Amichai Stein, aforeign affairs correspondent with the Israeli Public BroadcastingCorporation.

*Sputnik: First of all, do you think it is likely that Saudi Arabia wouldindeed start pursuing nuclear weapons? Does Riyadh have technologicalcapabilities to do so?*

*Amichai Stein: *Regarding the development of nuclear weapons, we needto know that the Saudis have no infrastructure to develop such things. Ifthey want nuclear weapons they need to go abroad to have them.

*Sputnik: What impact can a nuclear-armed Saudi Arabia have on the MiddleEast’s geopolitics? *

*Amichai Stein:* Not only Saudi Arabia has spoken in the past about itswish to get nuclear energy, not weapons, but also Egypt and Turkey. Thismight start a nuclear race in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia sees itselfas the main defender of the Gulf region from Iran. If Saudi Arabia and Iranget nuclear weapons [this could be fraught with conflict].

*Sputnik: What response could we expect from the other countries of theregion, such as Israel?*

*Amichai Stein:* Israel has reportedly been asking the US Administrationnot to give Saudi Arabia the ability to develop nuclear energy. I’m nottalking about nuclear weapons of course. Most countries, like Russia andChina, don’t see this as a bad thing. They argue that if a country wantsnuclear energy, then why not?

*Sputnik: What stand would Washington take in this regard given that bothSaudi Arabia and Israel are key US allies? Who would Washington chooseto support?*

*Amichai Stein:* I don’t know what the Trump administration will tell SaudiArabia if it asks for such technology. The Trump administration has goodrelations with Saudi Arabia, but it seems that its relations with Israelare not so bad either. So it’s a good question how Trump will managebetween the two if Saudi Arabia asks for technology to produce nuclearenergy.

*Sputnik: What can be done by countries that are committed to the Irannuclear deal to ensure safety in the region? What is your general viewon the geopolitical scenery in the Middle East?*

*Amichai Stein:* I think that Europe finds itself in a difficult situationas it needs to show that it can singlehandedly prevent Iran from obtainingnuclear weapons and make sure that Iran will stand by the promise it gaveto the world. This is really a test for Europe.