Saudi Arabia and Iran
In an editorial: "Green light to bomb Iran," The Washington Times wrote on July 7: "Even the Saudis know something has to be done to stop Iran's nuclear programme.”
In fact, Saudi Arabia has more reasons to worry about nuclear-armed Iran. Although the biggest exporter of oil in the world, Saudi Arabia's population of about 25 million is a fraction of Iran's 75 million. Iranian armed forces are many times bigger. Shiite mullahs of Iran have long made it clear that they want to end the Sunni domination of the Middle East. Moreover, restless Shiite minority in Saudi Arabia look to Iran as their leader. As such, a nuclear-armed Iran might spell disaster for Saudi Arabia.
Already America is in retreat in Iraq where the Shiite majority now control the government. In Lebanon, the Shiite Hezbollah is far better-armed than the Lebanese army and Sunni-led government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri remains at the mercy of the Hezbollah. In Iran itself, the Shiite mullahs are bent on crushing the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people. Atomic bomb in the hands of the Iranian mullahs will give them the power to intimidate their adversaries at home and abroad. As the Washington Times puts it: "The strategic lines can be drawn with precision. Iran is nearing the stage where it will be in a position to test a nuclear weapon. A nuclear-armed Iran is an existentialist threat to Israel, Saudi Arabia and other states in the region ... Israel has the best-equipped forces to undertake the mission, though we assume that other regional actors will cooperate on covert operations that no doubt are already taking place."
If Saudi Arabia increases massively its oil production (say another 3 to 4 million barrel per day) , it can bring down the oil prices from its current level of $70 per barrel to $30 per barrel, depriving Iran of massive oil revenues, and the Shiite mullahs will be forced to give up their nuclear programme. Otherwise, they will not be able to pay for massive subsidies and face the discontent of the rural people whose support they now need more than ever to retain their precarious hold on power. Instead of bombing Iran, Saudi Arabia may be prodded to use its oil weapon against Iran.
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