The race for nuclear weapons in the Middle East

The race for nuclear weapons in the Middle East
An Israeli study indicates that Arab countries are racing to develop nuclear energy in response to Iran's nuclear program, and that Russia plays an important role in this race in order to strengthen its position in the region
A new study by the Center for Political and Strategic Studies of the Institute of "Herzliya" multi-domain to the pursuit of Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa to build nuclear power plants with Russian support.
The researcher of the study, Dr. Shaul Shay, said that the pursuit of nuclear energy comes in response to Iran's nuclear program, and not just to develop nuclear capabilities for economic purposes. According to the study, these efforts have the Russian support of providing States with the necessary information and technology to strengthen their strength in the region.
The Israeli researcher said the information he collected supports Israel's claim that the nuclear program is pushing the region into a nuclear race, especially among countries competing with Iran in the region - Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey and Jordan.
The researcher stressed that the acquisition of information and technology to build nuclear facilities for the development of energy shorten the way to convert them to military technology, although it is not easy.
As the UAE prepares to build the first nuclear plant in the Arab world, Saudi Arabia will be the second Gulf Arab country to have nuclear power. Saudi Arabia hired a civil company to determine the most suitable location for building facilities in the kingdom and signed agreements with America, France and Russia on nuclear energy.
The Israeli researcher pointed out that Saudi Arabia has strong strategic relations with Pakistan, which has a nuclear weapon. Saudi Arabia supported Pakistan economically while it was under economic constraints in exchange for Pakistan's contribution to the nuclear program.
Egypt is also seeking to develop its nuclear energy. This came during a meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Dabaa.
Russia is not hiding its intentions to support nuclear power projects in the region. In 2014, it set up an office for its nuclear agency in Dubai to oversee the nuclear facilities that the agency is helping to build.