Turkey could be in a nuclear arms race following Saudi Arabia, said The Economist’s weekly edition.
The cover of UK-based newspaper touched upon the “upsurge of nuclear proliferation,” adding: “To stop it, the nuclear powers need to act.”
According to the piece, China’s rapidly increasing regional dominance and North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal haunt South Korea and Japan.
As for the Middle East, it said: “Iran’s belligerence and its nuclear programme loom over the likes of Saudi Arabia and Turkey.”
US President Joe Biden has expressed willingness to return to the deal provided Iran resumes “strict compliance”.
Washington, under former President Donald Trump, has announced its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the “Iran nuclear deal” in 2018.
“The nuclear deal curtailing Iran’s nuclear programme is collapsing. Even if Biden revives it, many of its provisions expire in a decade,” said the newspaper. “Should Iran at any time look as if it is contemplating going nuclear, Saudi Arabia will not want to fall behind. Muhammad bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, has few domestic checks on his authority and ambitious plans for nuclear technology. Turkey could well follow.”
Iran underscores that the steps taken to reduce commitments under the deal are “reversible” if the US returns “without conditions”.
However, Iranian officials have ruled out negotiations on the country’s ballistic missile program, saying it is for defense purpose.