Okaz/ Saudi Gazette MANAMA — Prince Turki Al-Faisal, chairman of the Board of Directors of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, stressed that returning to the Iranian nuclear agreement will not solve the problem of the Iranian leadership's danger to the region, but on the contrary, it will fuel conflicts. He said that the region's countries are looking for other options to preserve their stability and prepare for the day when the Iranian leadership possesses nuclear weapons, especially since some big nations have the susceptibility to succumb to the extortion by the Iranian leadership, stressing the necessity for preparing the Gulf countries for all possibilities, especially the probability of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. He added, "We are committed to a zone where weapons of mass destruction are prohibited." Prince Turki explained in the Bahraini newspaper's Al-Bilad Forum, with the participation of 60 Arab leading political, media, diplomatic, parliamentary, and academic figures, that the Arabian Gulf region is the focus of global attention because of its strategic, economic and financial importance, as it has been able to stay safe from the tampering and the direct impacts of wars. He added: "The future is unforeseeable and it is impossible to rely on the past. We must work hard to overcome the shortcomings and differences so as to be qualified to face all possibilities, including Iran's possession of a nuclear bomb." Prince Turki Al-Faisal noted that the danger of the Iranian leadership is clearly visible in the political hegemony and interference in the affairs of the Gulf States and its relentless pursuit of nuclear technology and ultimately seeking the possession of a nuclear weapon amid the ambiguity of its intentions. He asserted that the behavior of the Iranian leadership could not be ignored and separated from the dangers of the nuclear program, the ballistic missile program, especially for missiles carrying nuclear warheads and for the bomb-laden drones (UAVs). He further said: "The region is living under this looming danger every day, as this leadership has never exercised restraint and we do not know what it will do in the future. "Iran is a real danger, especially through its attempts for 40 years to implement its policies, although we are not hostile towards Iran nor its people, as neighbors and Muslims, but our security must be preserved, and this necessitates achieving a strong balance with Iran. The imbalance allows the Iranian leadership to exploit the loopholes." On the Yemeni issue, Prince Turki said that Saudi Arabia's recent initiative was not the first at all, as Saudi Arabia is an advocate of peace and they are advocates of war, expressing his lack of optimism in the future about Houthi's cooperation in this connection.
