Israel aware of S. Arabia's plans to build nuke power plant

Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Aug.21 (ANI): Israel has said that it is aware about Saudi Arabia's plans to build nuclear power plants.

The Saudi newspaper Al-Watan quoted the country's Minister of Water and Electricity, Abdullah al-Hosain, as saying the kingdom was working on plans for its first nuclear power plant.

The US inked civil nuclear power deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates last year.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel had no official response to the Saudi minister's announcement.

Over the last two years, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, the UAE, Yemen, Morocco, Libya, Jordan and Egypt have all indicated an interest in developing nuclear programs.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel has been careful not to take a public stand on civilian nuclear programs in neighboring states, partly because as one of the few countries in the world that has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, it is not keen on lobbying against nuclear know-how for peaceful needs going to countries that are willing to sign the treaty, since that would focus the limelight on Israel's own unique situation.

Nevertheless, defense officials said that Saudi interest in nuclear power was connected to Teheran's continued race toward nuclear power.

"The Saudis are genuinely scared of what will happen if Iran turns nuclear," one official said. "This is part of their response." (ANI)