Atomic Kingdom: If Iran Builds the Bomb, Will Saudi Arabia Be Next?
Source: Center for New American Security (Read full story)
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We argue that the prospects of Saudi “reactive proliferation” are lower than the conventional wisdom suggests but that this should not reduce Washington’s commitment to preventing the emergence of a nuclear-armed Iran. It is widely assumed that Saudi Arabia would respond to Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons by embarking on a crash program to develop their own bomb or by illicitly receiving nuclear weapons from its close ally Pakistan. If these options were not available, most analysts believe that the Saudis would be successful in securing a nuclear umbrella from Islamabad, including the possible deployment of Pakistani nuclear weapons on Saudi soil.
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Bahrain says Iran’s Revolutionary Guard behind “terror” cell
Source: Reuters (Read full story)
Bahrain has accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guard of setting up a militant cell to assassinate public figures in the Gulf Arab kingdom and attack its airport and government buildings. Bahraini authorities said on Sunday they had arrested eight Bahrainis in the group, with links to Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. The kingdom, base for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has been in political turmoil since protests erupted there in 2011, led by majority Shi’ite Muslims demanding an end to the Sunni monarchy’s political domination and full powers for parliament.
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Drone war goes global as demand soars
Source: The National (Read full story)
With the recent lifting of restrictions on US firms selling drones to countries in the Middle East, demand from the region is surging. The UAE’s recent US$200 million (Dh734.6m) purchase of unarmed Predator drones underscores the importance nations now place on the technology. But as the interest in what many perceive to be the most important military tool of the future goes global, its use is drawing criticism from across the political spectrum in the United States, and even from former military commanders, over legal, ethical and strategic concerns.
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Opposition activists call for 1-hour token strike – Assembly approves several laws, treaties
Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)
Opposition youth activists called on civil servants to observe a one-hour work stoppage today as a start of the so-called civil disobedience campaign the activists plan to gradually implement to force the government to dissolve the Assembly and call for fresh polls. The activists called on their civil disobedience Twitter account on all employees to observe the strike between 11 am to 12 noon but remain in their workplaces. They added they were preparing to carry out another activity which will announce only a short while before it takes place almost at the same time.
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Hunger strike by Oman activists continues
Source: Gulf News (Read full story)
The hunger strike by 23 activists continued contrary to statements given during a radio show on Wednesday, Gulf News was informed by Khawla Bint Salem Al Hashmi, wife of writer and human rights activists, Saeed Al Hashmi, who is also on hunger strike. “It is a lie, they never broke fast and as of now hunger strike continues,” she reiterated. She also revealed that, contrary to earlier claims, Al Hashmi was not taken straight to the high-security Central Prison in Sumayil from the Royal Hospital.
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Why Egypt, KSA, UAE and Qatar?
Source: The Peninsula (Read full story)
On February 24, John Kerry is expected to launch his first official tour abroad since he took office at the US State Department. His tour will cover nine countries in Europe and the Middle East, among them four Arab states: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Israel and the Palestinian territories have been excluded from this trip on the grounds that Kerry will accompany President Barack Obama when he visits Israel next month. The media carried statements by State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland saying that among the topics Kerry would discuss during his trip was “facing the challenge posed by extremists who want to hijack the achievements of some Arab Spring revolutions”.
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