Saudi Arabia welcomes Iran nuclear agreement - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
▻http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/11/saudi-arabia-welcomes-iran-nuclear-agreement-2013112513519366380.html
Saudi Arabia has said an interim deal on Iran’s nuclear programme could be a step towards a comprehensive solution - and hoped it could lead to the removal of WMD from the Middle East.
“The government of the kingdom sees that if there was goodwill, this agreement could represent a preliminary step towards a comprehensive solution to the Iranian nuclear programme,” the cabinet said in a statement.
It said the deal could eventually lead “to the removal of weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons, from the Middle East and the Arab Gulf region”.
The statement appeared to be a refence to Israel, which is the only country in the region to have a nuclear arsenal, although it has never admitted its existence.
The kingdom said it hoped that this agreement would be followed by further steps that would guarantee the rights of all states in the region to peaceful nuclear energy.
Several countries in the region have notified the UN they intend to begin their own civilian nuclear energy programmes under the terms of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.