Riyadh looks to Pakistan to purchase nuclear weapons
Riyadh (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Saudi Arabia is negotiating the purchase of nuclear warheads with Pakistan. According to the British newspaper The Sunday Times, citing US sources, Riyadh "the moment has come” to possess nuclear weapons as a deterrent to Iran. "There is a long-standing agreement in place with Pakistan – reveals a former defense official in Washington speaking anonymously - and the House of Saud has now made the strategic decision to move forward".
The revelation comes at a time of transition in Saudi Arabia, where there has been a change in power, and in a delicate phase of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue between Tehran and the 5 + 1 countries. A negotiation that, if it were to be successful, could lead to a thaw in relations between the US and Iran, and a change in the political balance in the Middle East.
The US official denied “any actual weaponry has been transferred yet”, but warned that “the Saudis mean what they say and they will do what they say ". Moreover Riyadh is increasingly concerned by Iran's nuclear program - according to Tehran it has peaceful and civilian purposes - and warns that will respond to any possible threat.
In the past, the top Saudi diplomats had said that any kind of agreement between Iran and the West on the nuclear issue would "open the door to the proliferation of atomic power" in the region.
Analysts and international policy experts point out that, in the past, it was Saudi Arabia who provided Islamabad - between the '70s and' 90s - the money needed to develop its nuclear arsenal to counter Indian power. Given the close military and diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Riyadh, a possible request for nuclear weapons from the Saudis would certainly not go unheard in Islamabad.
Western governments fears of an arms race in the Middle East - where so far only Israel has an unknown number of nuclear warheads - are becoming more concrete. In fact, Riyadh’s possible acquisition of atomic warheads is pushing other powers, chief among them Turkey and Egypt, to stock up on nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is advertising vacancies for eight new Executioners. The job description, which provides a minimum wage, needs no special qualifications; those who apply for the position will be given the opportunity to "perform a death sentence." Moreover successful candidates will also have to carry out minor judgments, including the cutting off of hands in cases of theft. The advertisement of the “vacancy" reflects the growing number of executions in Saudi Arabia, one of the top five countries in the world for number of death sentences. In 2015 alone Riyadh carried out 85 death sentences, matching in less than five months, the total number (88) for 2014.
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