Saudi journalist and researcher Abdulaziz Alkhamis said in a May 20, 2024 interview with Diwan Al-Mulla (Kuwait) on YouTube that the Arab countries should be brave and stand up to Hamas, Islamic extremists, and Iran. He said that he believes that if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon, then Saudi Arabia will obtain one as well. Alkhamis said that Jordan is the last country in the Fertile Crescent that is not under Iranian influence and that Iran seeks to take it over as well.
Abdulaziz Alkhamis: "As you know, Iran and its proxy militias have taken control of most of the countries in the Fertile Crescent, and has managed to get close to the Mediterranean Sea, but Iran believes that in order to complete this, it must take over Jordan, and reach a powerful negotiating position with the West, Israel, and especially with the U.S., regarding its acceptance as a regional superpower and a partner in administering the region. Jordan is the only country left for Iran north of the Arabian Peninsula and in the Fertile Crescent. Iran’s alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood has been well known for a while now."
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Diwan Al-Mulla: "The old rhetoric about throwing Israel into the sea must change, if we want a new Middle East. What should the Gulf states, and the Arab countries in general, do in order to get out of this crisis?"
Alkhamis: "Simply put, they must be brave and stand up to Hamas, and all the gangs of extremist political Islam, and on top of all – Iran. There should be an Arab position that puts forward a good peace agreement, with the support of the UN and the international powers. We know that the international powers – even Russia and China – support the existence of Israel as a state. So, who are we fighting? Can you throw the Israelis into the sea?"
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Al-Mulla: "Why does the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia not possess a nuclear bomb?"
Alkhamis: "First of all, it is bound by international agreements that prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons. However, these agreements do not prevent it from obtaining nuclear technology. Saudi Arabia has an ongoing nuclear program, and it even has a nuclear reactor, even though it is a small research reactor.
"In addition, new generations study nuclear sciences. Young Saudis study nuclear science abroad but this does not mean [Saudi Arabia] will obtain nuclear weapons. It is true that some Saudis demand that we obtain nuclear weapons, and the existence of nuclear technology makes it possible for Saudi Arabia to... The issue of uranium enrichment is in dispute between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. There is uranium in large quantities in Saudi Arabia."
Al-Mulla: "Right."
Alkhamis: "Saudi Arabia has the right to enrich uranium, and it is possible to deal with it as a product that is sold to the world. You cannot take uranium from your land and send it abroad, so that they will enrich it and send it back.
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"I believe that once Iran obtains a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia will be able to do the same easily. This is also what the Saudi officials have been saying. Iran needs to understand that it will not be the only one to [obtain] a nuclear weapon, and that others can easily obtain it through various ways – either by building their own [nuclear] industry, and this will take time, or by obtaining it through cooperation with other countries. This is what happened with certain countries that obtained nuclear energy and weapons through cooperation with other countries."