Saudi Arabia is not known to have a nuclear weapons program. From an official and public standpoint, Saudi Arabia has been an opponent of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, having signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and is a member of the coalition of countries demanding a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in the Middle East.[1][2] Studies of nuclear proliferation have not identified Saudi Arabia as a country of concern.[3]
However, over the years there have been media reports of Saudi Arabia's intent to purchase a nuclear weapon from an outside source. In 2003, a leaked strategy paper laid out three possible options for the Saudi government - to acquire a nuclear deterrent, to ally with and become protected by an existing nuclear nation, or to try and reach agreement on having a nuclear-free Middle East. UN officials and weapon specialists have suggested this review was prompted by a distancing of relations with the US, concerns over Iran's nuclear program, and the lack of international pressure on Israel to give up its nuclear weapons.[4]
In May 2008, the United States and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding to boost Saudi efforts for a civilian nuclear energy program.[5][edit]U.S. involvement
[edit]Saudi Arabia and Iraq's nuclear weapon program
In 1994, Muhammad Khilewi, the second-in-command of the Saudi mission to the United Nations, applied for asylum in the United States. He provided a packet of 10,000 documents[citation needed] that alleged long time Saudi support of the Iraqi nuclear weapons program. According to these documents, during the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, the Saudis supported the Iraqi nuclear program with $5 billion on the condition that successful nuclear technology and possibly even nuclear weapons would be transferred to Saudi Arabia.[6] Khilewi obtained asylum in the US, with the consent of Saudi Arabia. The allegations have not been confirmed by any other source, and US officials have stated that they have no evidence of Saudi assistance to Iraqi nuclear development.[7] Saudi officials denied the allegations.[8]
Furthermore, senior Clinton administration officials who were responsible for Mideast affairs at the time Khilewi sought asylum, including Robert Pelletreau of the State Department and Bruce Riedel of the National Security Council, said they found nothing in Khilewi's debriefings to back up the Media reports about a Saudi nuclear program. "There was nothing there," Pelletreau said. (Vartan 2005)
[edit]Saudi Arabia and Pakistan's nuclear program
In 2003 it was reported that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had entered a secret agreement on "nuclear cooperation" providing Saudi Arabia with nuclear weapons technology in return for access to cheap oil for Pakistan.[9]
In March 2006, the German magazine Cicero reported that Saudi Arabia had since 2003 received assistance from Pakistan to acquire nuclear missiles and warheads. Satellite photos allegedly reveal an underground city and nuclear silos with Ghauri rockets in Al-Sulaiyil, south of the capital Riyadh.[10] Pakistan has denied aiding Saudi Arabia in any nuclear ambitions.[11]
[edit]Saudi Arabia and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf nuclear programs
Furthermore, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf plan to start their own joint civilian nuclear program, which has raised fears of proliferation.[citation needed] In March 2007, foreign ministers of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council met in Saudi Arabia to discuss progress in plans agreed in December 2006, for a joint civilian nuclear program.[12]
[edit]Missile capability
In 1988 Saudi Arabia purchased an unknown number of Chinese-made CSS-2 intermediate-range ballistic missiles which have a range of 2,800 km with a 2,000 kg payload. The CSS-2 was originally designed by China to carry a hydrogen bomb, however the version purchased by Saudi Arabia was equipped with a conventional warhead. China is currently retiring these missiles from service.
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