Recent remarks by a prominent Saudi Arabian royal have fanned new fears that Iran's advancing nuclear program could kick-start a nuclear arms race in the region.
Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former Saudi ambassador to the U.S. and the kingdom's ex-intelligence chief, suggested that given the failure to denuclearize the Middle East, Saudi Arabia should also consider an arsenal of its own.
"Our efforts and those of the world have failed to convince Israel to abandon its weapons of mass destruction, as well as Iran," he said during a Gulf security forum in Riyadh. "Therefore it is our duty toward our nation and people to consider all possible options, including the possession of these weapons."