Obama says Saudis won’t pursue atomic weapons

Obama downplays assessments and reports indicating that the nuclear deal shaping up between Iran and the six world powers will trigger a nuclear arms race in the region.

“There has been has been no indication from the Saudis or any other [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries that they have an intention to pursue their own nuclear program,” he says in his wide-ranging interview with The Atlantic.

“Part of the reason why they would not pursue their own nuclear program — assuming that we have been successful in preventing Iran from continuing down the path of obtaining a nuclear weapon — is that the protection that we provide as their partner is a far greater deterrent than they could ever hope to achieve by developing their own nuclear stockpile or trying to achieve breakout capacity when it comes to nuclear weapons.”