Saudi Arabia, growing increasingly nervous about its neighbor across
the Persian Gulf, may be hedging its bets and crafting a nuclear back-up
plan if a diplomatic deal with Iran fails to halt the Islamic
Republic's alleged march toward a weapon.
The latest sign is a curious visit on Wednesday by Pakistan Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif, the day before Secretary of State John Kerry's
visit to the capital Riyadh.
Sharif arrived in Saudi Arabia following a visit by the Egyptian
president on Sunday and Turkey's president on Monday -- but the Pakistan
PM's House of Saud call might be the most significant of the three,
considering Pakistan is seen by some analysts as Saudi Arabia's future
nuclear tech supplier, should the Kingdom take that leap.
"The visit by the PM ... almost certainly has to be seen in the
context of Saudi Arabia looking to Pakistan for nuclear cooperation to
counter Iran's emerging status," Simon Henderson, of the Washington
Institute, told Fox News.
Henderson, in an essay for the Washington Institute last month, also
noted Riyadh's support for Pakistan's nuclear program, "providing
financing in return for a widely assumed understanding that, if needed,
Islamabad will transfer technology or even warheads."
The developments point to increasing tension in the region over the
course of U.S.-driven nuclear talks. Earlier this week, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave an address to Congress urging the Obama
administration to pull back on the talks, warning the pending deal is
too soft on Iran.
"When the Israelis and Arabs are on the same page, people should pay attention," Israel's ambassador to the United States
Ron Dermer told Fox News on Thursday. "That doesn't happen too often."
President Obama and his top advisers have urged allies, and
lawmakers, to be patient and wait until a deal is actually presented
before judging it.
But some in the region are getting impatient. "Nobody is going to
wait for Iran to get a nuclear weapon. Proliferation has already
started," retired Col. Derek Harvey, a former senior intelligence
official in Iraq, told Fox News. The reported sunset clause allowing
unrestricted enrichment for Iran after 10 years may be a driving
factor.
The State Department did not return a request for comment from Fox
News on whether it was concerned about Saudi Arabia seeking a nuclear
weapon.
Henderson, in his essay, pointed out that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan may have just renewed a secret nuclear weapons pact.
In early February, the chairman of Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff
Committee visited Saudi Arabia, amid some speculation that the House of
Saud had indeed reconfirmed a supposed arrangement with Pakistan for the
nation to supply Saudi Arabia with warheads should Iran go nuclear. The
visit to Saudi Arabia last month came a day after a successful
test-firing of Pakistan's Raad air-launched 220-mile-range cruise
missile, which supposedly is able to deliver nuclear and conventional
warheads.
Ironically, the father of Pakistan's nuclear program, Abdul Qadeer
"AQ" Khan, also provided the technology to Saudi Arabia's nemesis,
Iran.
Kerry is navigating complicated Arab world geopolitics as he meets
with foreign counterparts. Amid wariness over Shiite Iran's nuclear
program, these countries are also concerned about Iran's support for
Shia militants against ISIS militants in Iraq, support for Houthi rebels
in Yemen and the country's ever-growing regional footprint.
In Riyadh, Kerry met Thursday with counterparts from the Kuwait, UAE,
Qatar, Bahrain and Oman -- all Sunni nations concerned about Iran's
intentions in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
At a press conference Thursday, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister
Prince Saud al-Faisal expressed concern over Iran's involvement in
helping Iraqi forces in Tikrit. "The situation in Tikrit is a prime
example of what we are worried about. Iran is taking over the country,"
he said.
The Pentagon acknowledged Iran's leading role in the battle for
Tikrit. Two-thirds of those taking part in the operation are Iran-backed
Shia militias led by Quds Force commander Gen. Major General Qasem
Soleimani, the special operations wing of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
"This is the most overt conduct of Iranian support in the form of
artillery and other things," Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, told members of Congress Tuesday.
Kerry did his best to reassure Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies
that the United States will not ignore Iran's actions in the region
outside of the ongoing nuclear talks.
"The first step is, make sure they don't have a nuclear weapon, but
nothing else changes the next day, with respect to our joint commitment,
to stand up against any other kind of interference of violation of
international law, or support for terrorism," he said Thursday in
Riyadh.
Joining the Sunni alliance against Iran is Israel. Netanyahu
cautioned the U.S. on Tuesday not to become too dependent on Iran
fighting inside Iraq.
"When it comes to Iran and ISIS, the enemy of your enemy -- is your enemy," Netanyahu told Congress.
While Pakistan's prime minister was meeting his ally in Saudi Arabia
this week, over in northern Iraq, the head of the Kurdistan Regional
Government was also looking to shore up support from one of its patrons
-- Iran.
An official representing the KRG in Iran, Abdullah Akerei, told
Iranian Press TV that gas for the Kurdistan region's power plants would
be supplied by Iran.
KRG has welcomed Iran's help in the past. Over the summer, Soleimani
and 70 soldiers arrived to defend Irbil from the Islamic State after
Mosul fell. Iran has since helped supply the Kurds with weapons to help
them in their ongoing fight against ISIS.