King Abdullah *is* the conservative wing of the Saudi royal family, and has been since long before he became king. Those who oppose modernization in the Kingdom are the Wahabbi clerics, who are the second, but largely unknown, and misunderstood by the West, power center within the kindgom. They rarely act, but when they feel compelled to do so, they act decisively.
Who do you think was actually behind the 'takeover' of the Qaaba, about 20 years ago? They were, and did it because the King at the time, Fahd, was attempting a modernization program, which was stopped dead in its tracks.
These clerics wield a lot of influence both within the Kingdom, and without (they are the ones building madrassa worldwide, with a combination of petrodollars and funds gained from Moslem pilgrims on Hajj.) They do not want to see that situation altered, and a nuclear Iran, with more clout for rival clerics from a different sect, who would displace them, does not enter the picture.
Thus, it is in the Wahabbi cleric's own best interest to assure that the Shiite mullahs of Iran do not displace them. They themselves could well privately 'turn a blind eye' to covert assistance from the Royal family to an Israeli pre-emptive stike, while they may well condemn it publicly, albeit rather weakly...
the infowarrior