Saudi Arabia says it would not rule building nuclear weapons

Saudi Arabia will not rule out the possibility of building or acquiring nuclear weapons to counterbalance a nuclear-armed Iran, the Saudi ambassador to the United States has indicated.

In an interview with US news channel CNN, ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir said the building of new nuclear weapons is not “something we would discuss publicly.”

Pressed later on the issue he said: “This is not something that I can comment on, nor would I comment on.”

But the kingdom of Saudi Arabia will take whatever measures are necessary in order to protect its security," he added. "There are two things over which we do not negotiate: Our faith and our security."

Al-Jubeir said, however, the details disclosed by the Obama administration to the Saudis about the developing nuclear deal with Iran were "positive."

"I can't say that we like it, because we don't know the details," he said. "The assurances we have received from the administration have been positive but we want to see the details before we can make a judgment."

The ambassador’s reticence to rule out a military nuclear programme may reignite concerns that the autocratic monarchy has its eye on a nuclear arsenal.

Western intelligence agencies believe that the Saudi monarchy paid for up to 60% of Pakistan’s nuclear programme in return for the ability to buy warheads for itself at short notice, the Guardian newspaper reported in 2010.

The two countries maintain close relations and are sometimes said to have a special relationship; they currently have close military ties and conduct joint exercises.

The news comes day amid a series of fresh air strikes in Yemen by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition targeting a number of strategic sites held by Houthi rebels and the bases of army units loyal to the group’s main ally, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The rebel group is attempting to form a central government. Air strikes hit an arms depot. In the capital city Sanaa's Faj Attan area, as well as a special forces headquarters. A military airbase near the international airport was also hit.

A weapons depot outside the capital in the Asr mountains was destroyed, causing damage to planes, airport infrastructure and runways, while Houthi strongholds of Saada in the north and Hudaydah in the west were also targeted.

The fresh strikes came as Houthi fighters on Saturday threatened to undertake suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia if the kingdom continues to launch air strikes against the group's positions.