Free Republic

Who could have seen this coming? Practically everyone outside the Obama administration, that’s who, but these days it would have been a Logan Act violation to mention it. Saudi Arabia has cut a deal with South Korea to develop two nuclear reactors in the next 20 years, putting Iran’s chief opponent in the region to play a little nuclear escalateo with Tehran: As U.S. and Iranian diplomats inched toward progress on Tehran’s nuclear program last week, Saudi Arabia quietly signed its own nuclear-cooperation agreement with South Korea.That agreement, along with recent comments from Saudi officials and royals, is raising...

As U.S. and Iranian diplomats inched toward progress on Tehran’s nuclear program last week, Saudi Arabia quietly signed its own nuclear-cooperation agreement with South Korea. That agreement, along with recent comments from Saudi officials and royals, is raising concerns on Capitol Hill and among U.S. allies that a deal with Iran, rather than stanching the spread of nuclear technologies, risks fueling it. Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief, Prince Turki al-Faisal, a member of the royal family, has publicly warned in recent months that Riyadh will seek to match the nuclear capabilities Iran is allowed to maintain as part of any...

Saudi Arabia has a secret deal with Pakistan offering funding for Islamabad’s nuclear weapons programme in return for access to warheads, according to the BBC’s Newsnight show. Rumours of a deal have long circulated in the Middle East, amid Saudi anxiety at its principal regional rival Iran developing a “Shia bomb”. Fresh details emerged on the eve of talks in Geneva to find a deal on Iran's nuclear capabilities. Citing American intelligence reports and a former Pakistani security officer, the BBC said nuclear weapons made in Pakistan for Saudi Arabia were ready for delivery. However, the Pakistan government dismissed the...