The Times November 04, 2006
Six
Arab states join rush to go nuclear
By Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor
Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, UAE and Saudi Arabia seek atom
technology
THE SPECTRE of a nuclear race in the Middle East was raised
yesterday when six Arab states announced that they were embarking
on programmes to master atomic technology.
The move, which follows the failure by the West to curb Irans
controversial nuclear programme, could see a rapid spread of
nuclear reactors in one of the worlds most unstable regions,
stretching from the Gulf to the Levant and into North Africa.
The countries involved were named by the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) as Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia.
Tunisia and the UAE have also shown interest.
All want to build civilian nuclear energy programmes, as they are
permitted to under international law. But the sudden rush to
nuclear power has raised suspicions that the real intention is to
acquire nuclear technology which could be used for the first Arab
atomic bomb.
Some Middle East states, including Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and
Saudi Arabia, have shown initial interest [in using] nuclear power
primarily for desalination purposes, Tomihiro Taniguch, the deputy
director-general of the IAEA, told the business weekly Middle East
Economic Digest. He said that they had held preliminary discussions
with the governments and that the IAEAs technical advisory
programme would be offered to them to help with studies into
creating power plants.
Mark Fitzpatrick, an expert on nuclear proliferation at the
International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that it was
clear that the sudden drive for nuclear expertise was to provide
the Arabs with a security hedge.
If Iran was not on the path to a nuclear weapons capability you
would probably not see this sudden rush [in the Arab world], he
said.
The announcement by the six nations is a stunning reversal of
policy in the Arab world, which had until recently been pressing
for a nuclear free Middle East, where only Israel has nuclear
weapons.
Egypt and other North African states can argue with some
justification that they need cheap, safe energy for their expanding
economies and growing populations at a time of high oil
prices.
The case will be much harder for Saudi Arabia, which sits on the
worlds largest oil reserves. Earlier this year Prince Saud
al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister, told The Times that his country
opposed the spread of nuclear power and weapons in the Arab
world.
Since then, however, the Iranians have accelerated their nuclear
power and enrichment programmes.