Saudi Arabia could develop nukes if civilian program allowed: Ynet

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli Media
1 Aug 2023 15:23

The Israeli military establishment is growing fearful of a possible normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia that grants the country its nuclear ambitions.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (L) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) in occupied Al Quds, West Bank, Palestine, on January 19, 2023. (Israeli Government Press Office (GPO)/ handout)

The Israeli military establishment is growing increasingly apprehensive over the prospect of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's potential acceptance of a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, which could see Riyadh being granted its long-sought-after nuclear ambitions, the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth front page read on Monday.

The Israeli outlet says Riyadh views its nuclear demands as a pivotal element in any potential normalization deal with "Israel," emphasizing its quest for permission to conduct uranium enrichment programs primarily for peaceful, non-military purposes as it claims.

However, prominent Israeli security sources warn that Saudi Arabia could exploit this to allegedly develop military nuclear capabilities. Netanyahu has formed a team to address the issue, including Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, security advisor Tzahi Hanegbi, and an assistant to the Prime Minister who is also an expert on nuclear issues.

The Israeli media outlet said that the Prime Minister's office has not yet responded to Saudi demands nor the deal's conditions.

Riyadh's Demands Hold the Key to Saudi-Israeli Normalization

Two sources told Axios that the director of the Mossad, David Barnea, secretly landed in Washington two weeks ago to discuss the Biden administration's effort to relaunch normalization between the occupation and Saudi Arabia with the US President and CIA officials.

Israeli officials have expressed their concerns regarding a potential US-Saudi bilateral agreement that could negatively affect the occupation's "security", including arms sales and a civilian nuclear program.

Normalization is only a small part of the administration's efforts, as the Israeli government wants to weigh in on potential US-Saudi bilateral agreements that could affect the occupation's "security", such as US support for a Saudi civilian nuclear program with uranium enrichment and potential US arms sales to Riyadh.

Biden dispatched National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to Saudi Arabia for talks on the normalization process with "Israel" with the Saudi Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, The Washington Post reported on July 28.

An unnamed White House National Security Council official told The Washington Post that the American envoy "hopes to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia."

The state-run Saudi Press Agency said the two sides "discussed the Saudi-US strategic relations and ways to enhance them in various fields, in addition to the latest regional and international developments of mutual concern."

The low-profile meeting, with no pictures taken, saw the attendance of high-ranking Saudi officials, including the defense and energy ministers and the head of the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

Sullivan looks to build on the efforts of the Trump administration that introduced the so-called "Abraham Accords", a series of normalization deals with several heads of Arab regimes, including Morocco's Mohammed VI and the UAE's Bin Zayed. The US has now reignited efforts to bring MBS to officially normalize relations with "Israel" as he heads the most wealthy and influential of its targeted Arab states.