What's up with Saudi & PGCC

Saudi King supports Iran's N-rights
Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:40:04

Saudi King Abdullah

The Saudi King backs Iran's right to nuclear technology and reaffirms his call for a Middle East devoid of weapons of mass destruction.

In an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published on Thursday, King Abdullah said that "the IAEA regulations should be applied to all countries without any exceptions," the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

"According to the IAEA regulations, Iran--like any other country--has the right to develop peaceful nuclear technology," he added.

The Saudi leader reaffirmed his call for the dismantling of the arsenals of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East and repeated his country's proposal to establish an international consortium to enrich uranium.

King Abdullah reiterated that such a consortium should be set up in an impartial country.

"The proposal is part of Saudi Arabia's diplomatic efforts to solve Iran's nuclear standoff peacefully," he added.

MGH/JG/RE

PGCC 'ready for Iran-US confrontation' Thu, 08 Nov 2007 21:58:06

The Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Saudi Arabia has claimed that Persian Gulf littoral states are ready for any possible military confrontation between Iran and the US. "This subject is under constant study between defense ministers as the Persian Gulf states have to be always ready for any emergency,” Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Aziz told reporters. His remarks came after a meeting of the foreign and defense ministers of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) in Riyadh aimed at discussing the emerging threat of terrorism and the need to protect oil resources. The Saudi official did not say what role the organization's member states would play in case of a military action against Iran. The PGCC, comprising Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain, was formed in 1981. MMS/RE