Now that the Obama administration has caved to the Iranians and given the Mullahs exactly the kind of deal they’d want, it’s safe to say that the Middle East has just become a lot less stable. Given the number of countries in the region that don’t like Iran, even aside from Israel, this is hardly a surprise, and other than Egypt, Saudi Arabia is the most significant of them. Both of those two countries have mentioned that they will consider starting nuclear programs if Iran is allowed to continue its own, and now, it looks like the Saudis are looking to move forward with its plans. From Britain’s Independent:

Saudi Arabia will not rule out building or acquiring nuclear weapons, the country’s ambassador to the United States has indicated.

Asked whether Saudi Arabia would ever build nuclear weapons in an interview with US news channel CNN, Adel Al-Jubeir said the subject was “not something we would discuss publicly”.

Pressed later on the subject he said: “This is not something that I can comment on, nor would I comment on.”

The ambassador’s reticence to rule out a military nuclear programme may reignite concerns that the autocratic monarchy has its eye on a nuclear arsenal.

In diplomacy and politics, reticence like this is rarely unintentional. The many Sunni countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, are none too pleased with the idea of the world’s largest Shiite country adding nuclear weapons to their arsenal, so based on this interview and their previous comments, it’s highly likely that the Saudis are looking at starting up a nuclear program right now.

I’d rather neither country have the bomb, personally, and I think my sentiments are shared with many on the right. If given the choice between the two, though, I’d choose arming Saudi Arabia, since they are not actively and avowedly pledged to the destruction of both America and Israel. It might be worth allowing them to be another nuclear counterweight to Iranian ambitions in the region, but once you give a country the bomb, they won’t give it up easily.* Regardless, don’t expect President Obama to manage the situation any better than he already has.

*=Unless you’re the United States under the Obama administration.

Featured image courtesy of Shutterstock.