Nuclear proliferation in the Middle East

may make sense in the short term but over the next two decades, Iran is only a
part of a larger nuclear future in the region, which includes Saudi Arabia’s,
Turkey’s, Egypt’s, and the UAE’s nuclear programs. As John Spacapan, NPEC’s
Wohlstetter Public Affairs Fellow, argues in the attached monograph, Blocking
the Gateways to Nuclear Disorder in the Middle East, these countries will still
need to be watched even if Iran never acquires nuclear arms. The good news is
that so far, only Israel has gone nuclear while every other Middle Eastern
state that tried, failed. John explains why. First, U.S. and allied efforts
have successfully blocked proliferation in the region. Second, several Middle
Eastern states pulled the plug on their nuclear weapons efforts when they
encountered technological barriers or faced more immediate economic and
military demands. Finally, only a few Middle Eastern states have faced the kind
of persistent threat of foreign invasion that might justify getting a bomb.



 



Non Proliferation
Policy Education Center 20th Sept 2022



https://npolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2202-John-Spacapan-Middle-East.pdf