Saudi Arabia produces its own ballistic missiles with the help of China, the US intelligence services came to such conclusions. This was announced on Thursday, December 23, by CNN, citing sources.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia was not engaged in the production of missiles, but only bought them from China, journalists report. Now, as follows from the pictures cited by the media, there is at least one missile production facility in Saudi Arabia.
Washington believes that this fact will complicate efforts to contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions and will become a pretext for abandoning the idea of disarmament.
Also, Washington fears that the development of ballistic missiles in the region could change the balance of power in the region. As noted by CNN, Iran and Saudi Arabia are rivals, so Tehran is unlikely to agree to stop building ballistic missiles if Saudi Arabia starts producing its own.
Earlier, on December 17, a senior State Department official said that President of the United States Joe Biden chose the path of diplomacy on the Iranian nuclear issue, but if it fails, he will explore other options.
On December 14, US Permanent Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced that the United States is ready to lift sanctions on Iran as part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian Nuclear Program (JCPOA), which will bring economic benefits to Tehran. According to her, the US president “made it clear” that he is ready to return to the terms of the deal as long as Iran behaves in the same way.
On December 4, the United States did not rule out measures against Iran if Tehran drags out and sabotages negotiations in Vienna to restore the JCPOA. At the same time, a representative of the State Department said that Russia and China, like the United States, were somewhat disappointed with the course of negotiations on the restoration of the JCPOA.
The JCPOA was signed in 2015, it assumed the lifting of sanctions in exchange for limiting Iran’s nuclear program as a guarantor of Tehran’s non-receipt of nuclear weapons. However, in May 2018, the United States announced a unilateral withdrawal from it and the restoration of tough sanctions against Tehran. In response, Iran has gradually begun to backtrack on its obligations under the treaty.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
