Saudi Arabia and Nuclear Weapons

The nuclear arms race is a significant concern among the powerful nations across the world. The US president has recently shown support to the Saudi Arabian government in their quest to pursue nuclear power. The support comes despite the apparent fear that Saudi Arabia, just like Iran cannot be trusted with possession of nuclear power. Letting Saudi Arabia pursue nuclear power would pave the way to the Saudi Arabian government to build nuclear arms. This has the potential to spark regional issues in the Middle East. Also, the issue would raise concerns among the Saudi Arabia neighbors such as Iran who have been denied the opportunity to pursue nuclear power by the US government. The move would also have negative economic impacts in the region which would trickle down to the rest of the world. The US government and the world should be cautious in letting Saudi Arabia possess nuclear power. Some of the outcomes of permitting Saudi Arabia own Nuclear Weapons are discussed below. 

Regional Issues 

Saudi Arabia is located in the Middle East, one of the most unstable regions in the world. The region is known for the numerous conflicts among the countries found in the region. For instance, there has been the long term conflict between Israel and Palestine that started at the end of World War 2. The Arab Spring conflicts in 2010 also prove that the region is unstable; hence the availability of nuclear weapons in such a zone would be a significant threat to the inhabitants of the region and the world at large. The condition is made worse by the fact that the region is known to inhabit some of the most organized and extensive extremist groups in the world. The ISIS and the Al Qaeda terrorist organizations are found in the region making it one of the most insecure regions in the world. The pursuit of nuclear power by Saudi Arabia would pave the way to other countries in the region pursuing ownership of nuclear weapons. If such weapons were to fall at the wrong hands such as the extremist groups, the region would become more vulnerable and insecure than it is currently. The possibility of the weapons falling on the wrong hands is increased by the fact that there are governments in the region that are terrorist organizations, sympathizers. If such countries possess nuclear weapons, they can sell the weapons to the terrorist organizations in the region. A single weapon can cause massive destruction killing more than 4 million people; hence this would result in more vulnerability in the region and the rest of the world. 

Saudi Arabia Neighbors 

The nuclear proliferation by Saudi Arabia would have a considerable impact on its relationship with its neighbors especially Iran. Iran has been trying to expand its nuclear knowledge for several decades. Since the year 2000, Iran has been accused of making attempts to build a nuclear weapon. Israel is the only state in the region which possesses nuclear weapons, and this has sparked other countries to pursue nuclear arms. Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Syria among other countries have made attempts to expand their nuclear capability over the years. The rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran makes it quite risky for either of the two to own nuclear weapons. The two countries are the most significant powers in the Middle East, yet they do not have diplomatic relations. They have different religious and political views which have caused the rift between the two nations. For instance, Saudi Arabia is a Sunni Islamic state while Iran is Shia Islamic. Also, the two countries do not have similar diplomatic ties. Saudi Arabia has close relations with the United States and the United Kingdom while Iran is affiliated to Russia and China. The two countries have also clashed in the past over the energy policy since they are both oil and gas exporters in the region. The two countries also have different views on the Syrian Civil war. The two nations support different sides in the war. If Saudi Arabia were to own nuclear weapons, Iran would pursue the nuclear arms as well, and the rivalry between the two countries would likely trigger a nuclear war between them. The nuclear weapons race would likely begin among the other neighboring states as well since they would feel they need nuclear power to protect themselves from the other countries in the region. The tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran as well as the conflicts in the neighboring states makes possession of nuclear weapons by Saudi Arabia a significant threat in the region. 

Economic Impacts 

The possession of nuclear weapons by Saudi Arabia would have long term impacts on the region’s economy. Saudi Arabia is likely to use nuclear weapons to destabilize the regional economic activities which include oil and gas exportation. In the past, Saudi Arabia has unleashed its military power in some countries in the region. For instance, Saudi Arabia bombed Yemen making the state to become a humanitarian catastrophe. Also, Saudi Arabia used its military power to kidnap coerce the Lebanon Prime Minister into resignation. The Saudi Arabia government has also been accused of using its diplomatic facilities to assassinate those opposed to the regime. The precedent set by Saudi Arabia shows that their possession of nuclear weapons would result in their wrongful use in the region. They would use it to destroy their economic and political rivals such as Iran. In retaliation, the enemies would pursue nuclear arms in a bid to protect themselves. This would likely result in nuclear war in the region thus jeopardizing the economic progress of the region. Also, the country would use most of their revenue to build nuclear weapons neglecting other economic sectors. A nuclear war in the region would also attract sanctions from the powerful economies hence crippling the economy of the region. 

Recommendations on how the US could support Saudi Arabia 

The US government need to cautious in its support of nuclear power proliferation by Saudi Arabia. Such support would set a precedent for other Middle East countries to pursue nuclear power which would potentially cripple the political and economic progress of the region. To avoid such a scenario, the US government should support the Saudi Arabia state without them possessing a nuclear weapon. First, the US government should support but restrict Saudi Arabia’s nuclear activity to electricity generation. The generation of electricity does not require enrichment using Uranium; hence the possibility of Saudi Arabia building a nuclear weapon would be limited. Any attempts to acquire uranium by Saudi Arabia should raise concerns as to their true intentions. The tight restrictions between the US and the United Arab Emirates should serve as an example of the limits that should govern the US-Saudi Arabia nuclear power deal. Secondly, the US government should use its influence in the region to bring peace among the nations. Amicable conflict resolutions among the states in the region would make it a peace haven hence the need to pursue nuclear arms by the individual states would be mitigated. The US government should use its apparent influence in the affairs of the region to bring peace hence end the nuclear weapons race among the states.