An article on the Al-Jazeera English website warned of the consequences of turning the Arabian Peninsula into a nuclear zone in light of the efforts of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to build nuclear reactors, which predicts the possibility of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
In the article written by Patricia Sabga, editor-in-chief and supervisor of Al Jazeera English news service specializing in business and financial news, initiatives would emerge to conduct nuclear fission operations - in a region with a history of "nuclear secrecy" and where the exchange of missile fire between enemies had become an issue Familiar with sounding alarms.
These caveats began to wave over the Arabian Peninsula when the UAE loaded the first nuclear fuel packages in the first 4 nuclear reactors at the Baraka plant.
Under the cover of civil energy
As for Saudi Arabia, it is building the first research reactor of the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in the capital, Riyadh.
The UAE has agreed not to use its reactors to enrich uranium or reprocess spent fuel. It also signed the enhanced non-proliferation protocols. It also reached 123 agreements with the United States that allow the exchange of civil nuclear components, materials and expertise between the two countries.
However, according to Patricia Sabga, some nuclear energy practitioners did not satisfy the reasons that prompted the UAE to go ahead with the nuclear fission process with the aim of generating electricity, while there are safer, cheaper and renewable options that suit the nature of its sunny climate.
Saudi Arabia affirms - like that of the UAE - that its nuclear ambitions do not go beyond establishing civil energy projects. But Riyadh did not follow the example of its neighbor, its ally, as it has not officially announced its abandonment of developing nuclear weapons.
Specter of the nuclear race
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has explicitly announced his intention to acquire nuclear weapons if Iran first acquired them.
However, the specter of turning the Cold War between Saudi Arabia and Iran into a nuclear arms race - as the article's author says - is not a far-fetched occurrence. There are growing concerns that the Arabian Peninsula, the Gulf and the Middle East could be transformed into a nuclear region.
And Sabga notes that experts warn that the already "troubled" region could become a battleground for proxy nuclear battles between the superpowers.
Saudi Arabia's nuclear ambitions go back to at least 2006, when it embarked on searching for options to develop nuclear energy within the framework of a joint program with other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
According to an article by Al-Jazeera English, Saudi Arabia has included its nuclear plans within the "Vision 2030" developed by Mohammed bin Salman in order to diversify the country's economy resources away from oil.
Real motivations
"If some countries decide to build a nuclear power plant, then we will have to consider other issues that are in fact the drivers of those projects," the article's author quotes Michael Schneider, publisher of the State of the Global Nuclear Industry report.
It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia has submitted bids to companies to submit offers to build two energy reactors, but it has not yet awarded a contract to any of them. Although those plans are still on paper, the kingdom is proceeding with building its first nuclear research reactor.
However, there are troublesome things surrounding the Saudi project, according to the article. The research reactor that the Saudis began to build in early 2018 is now behind schedule. But there are strong indications that Riyadh is now moving towards the goal with "renewed vigor".
Riyadh has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which obliges it to conclude a “comprehensive safeguards agreement” with the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, those agreements do not allow IAEA inspectors to check nuclear sites whenever they want and within a short period of time.
Confidentiality approach
In this case, Saudi Arabia is not the only country in the Middle East that is secretive about its nuclear plans. There is Iraq, whose secret nuclear program was dismantled after the US invasion of the Gulf War in 1991.
Other Middle Eastern countries that have investigated secrecy about their nuclear programs include Libya, Algeria, and Syria. There is also Iran, which did not disclose its nuclear facilities until 2002, after the IAEA accused it of violating the non-proliferation treaties and protocols.
In 2015, Iran signed with the major powers the joint comprehensive action plan - known in the media as the nuclear agreement - before the administration of US President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from it in 2018.
The exception of Israel is a mean past
Although Washington adopted tough positions on the nuclear programs of Iraq and Iran, it gently ignored Israel's nuclear program, which the author described as "very" those programs in the Middle East.
It noted that Israel had not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, nor had it permitted IAEA inspectors to visit its nuclear sites.
She added that the policy of obfuscation that has long been pursued by Tel Aviv in this regard - with the approval of Washington - "sets a low precedent for nuclear transparency" followed in the countries of the Middle East, according to experts.
Nuclear deterrence theory
The writer described Prince Muhammad bin Salman's claim that his country would seek to acquire nuclear weapons if Iran succeeded in obtaining it, as a theory of deterrence against the enemy.
There are many critics of this deterrence theory, because it is impossible to prove its effectiveness. What refutes this theory is that nuclear states - or those believed to possess a nuclear weapon - are still under attack with conventional weapons.
For example, Sabga gave an example of Israel's nuclear attack by a Scud missile from Iraq in 1991. The World Trade Center in New York was also attacked by aircraft on September 11, 2001.
However, the development of nuclear weapons under the pretext of the need for a deterrent force has negative prospects for Middle Eastern countries, because it may refer them to "nuclear pawns" in a nuclear war on behalf of the major powers.