Saudi Arabia warn against radioactive leakage from Iran

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has warned against potential perils of an Iranian nuclear plant on the Gulf region. Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor is located around 200km from the Arabian Gulf along an active earthquake zone, the official Saudi news agency SPA reported Wednesday, citing a Saudi diplomat.

“Thus any radioactive leakage puts the region at a grave and serious danger to its air, food and water desalination stations,” Saudi deputy chief delegate to the UN, Khalid Bin Mohammad Manzalawi, told a meeting about a review of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) in New York, according to SPA.

“My country expresses its concern about perils posed by the Bushehr nuclear plant,” added the diplomat. He urged the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to push Iran to sign the Convention on Nuclear Safety. Manzalawi accused Iran of involvement in “subversive” acts in the Arab region and supporting terrorist groups with sophisticated weaponry.

“The kingdom looks forward to seeing the international community taking stricter measures against Iran in order to fulfil the ultimate aim of the NPT, which is to achieve global peace,” he added.

Last year, US President Donald Trump pulled out his country from a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed economic sanctions on it, citing Tehran’s non-compliance with the pact and destabilising behaviour.

Saudi Arabia also urged the world community to pressure Israel into putting its nuclear facilities under the IAEA’s comprehensive safeguards system. “Establishing security and stability in any region is not brought about by possession of weapons of mass destruction, but it can be fulfilled by cooperation and consultation among countries and pursuit of development,” the Saudi diplomat said.

Israel is widely believed to have a significant nuclear arsenal shrouded in mystery.