ABU DHABI — Saudi Arabia is rethinking its rejection of a nuclear weapons arsenal in light of recent developments in Iran.
"A Saudi atomic bomb is not an option, which we were thinking of a few
days ago," Abdul Rahman Al Rashed, a leading Saudi analyst, wrote in the
London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat on Sunday.
"However, we know that there is no
other option to deal with Iran, which is armed with nuclear weapons, except
through the same balance of terror, which guarded the situation among
Moscow, Beijing, and the West, and now between Karachi and New Delhi."
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have just completed the second round high-level
defense cooperation talks this year.
Western intelligence sources said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed
a strategic defense agreement that could pave the way for Islamabad to help
Riyad launch a nuclear program. The sources said Pakistan has already been
helping Riyad prepare an infrastructure for the procurement and deployment
of intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
Saudi Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz has met Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad in a wide-ranging session on defense and other
bilateral cooperation. Sultan also met
Pakistani Defense Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal in a discussion on defense and
security.
For his part, Sultan called for expanding defense cooperation. He did
not elaborate, but officials have termed Pakistan the closest ally of
Saudi Arabia.
"Pakistan and the kingdom will have to modernize their people in
accordance with the changing international situation and bring themselves to
the level of developed nations," Sultan said on April 15.
"Saudi-Pakistani relations have witnessed steady progress, especially at
political and economic levels," Musharraf said. "The government of Pakistan
wishes to bolster its strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia, considering
its pioneering role in reinforcing peace and security and strengthening
Islamic solidarity."
Officials said Pakistan has offered Saudi Arabia a range of military
platforms. They said the Saudi Army has begun trials of Pakistan's Khalid
main battle tank.
This was the second round of high-level cooperation talks between the
two countries. In February, King Abdullah visited Pakistan and signed five
cooperation agreements, including in the areas of science and technology.
Officials said this was Sultan's first visit to Pakistan, a major
importer of Saudi oil, since becoming crown prince in August 2005. As
defense minister, Sultan visited Pakistan in 1981 and 1999.