Saudi state-run paper’s support for Israeli nukes stirs public fury

Saudi state-run newspaper Al-Riyadh has implicitly supported Israel’s nuclear arsenals, sparking fury across the Persian Gulf kingdom.

Yusuf al- Kuwaylit, deputy chief editor of Al-Riyadh, made the remarks in the newspaper’s editorial, after Iran announced its new nuclear achievements on Wednesday.

The Saudi daily alluded to Israel’s stockpile of nuclear weapons and repeated Tel Aviv’s claims that it cannot endure long wars with Arab countries and therefore it requires a “deterrent” force against any alleged military actions by its supposed foes.

The article repeated the West’s allegations that Iran is trying to acquire military nuclear capabilities and argued that since there is no regional threat against the Islamic Republic, it is inexcusable for the country to develop its nuclear technology.

On Wednesday, Iran placed the first indigenous fuel rods into the heart of Tehran Research Reactor and 3,000 new generation centrifuges to its Natanz facility, increasing the production of 3.5 percent enriched uranium by 50 percent.

The United States, Israel and some of their European allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program and have used this pretext to push for four rounds of UN sanctions and a series of unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Iran has refuted the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful use.

Israel, widely believed to be the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East with over 200 undeclared nuclear warheads, pursues the policy of “deliberate ambiguity” on its nuclear program.

Tel Aviv has rejected global demands to join the NPT and does not allow IAEA inspectors to observe its controversial nuclear program.