Fears growing that a nuclear race in the region with Beijing's help could potentially spiral out of control

While the recent normalization deals between Israel, UAE and Bahrain are cause for optimism, the prospect of cementing an alliance with Saudi Arabia as part of a bulwark of Sunni states against Shia Iran, may come at a high cost.

According to the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), two separate reports - one in the Guardian and the other in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) - have highlighted nuclear cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China.

The Guardian reported that Chinese geologists posit that "Saudi Arabia may have enough uranium ore reserves for the domestic production of nuclear fuel."

With regard to WSJ, two Chinese companies are constructing a facility for the purpose of extracting uranium yellowcake from uranium ore. Creating yellowcake is one of the first stages toward making nuclear fuel.

Israel's former ambassador to the United Nations and current Director of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs told JNS that the relationship between the Saudi and the Chinese dates back to the 1980s and started through Chinese missile technology.

Gold warned that although Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MBS) has shown modernizing tendencies and seems to want to distance the country from Wahhabism - the extreme brand of Islamism - creating lasting diplomatic relations will be key.

Bin Salman has said that Saudi would not pursue a nuclear option unless Iran achieved the bomb, which it has still yet to do.

Whether current US President Donald Trump wins reelection in the November 3 election or is replaced by former Vice President Joe Biden, neither candidate has seemed to guarantee Riyadh's security.

Israel is concerned on a number of fronts. A nuclear-armed Iran is a state of affairs that it has worked for decades to try and avert, but it is hardly much more receptive to a nuclear-armed Saudi Arabia.

i24