The Saudis, not invited to join negotiations either on Syria or Iran, have gone ahead with their own plans for beating Iran to the nuclear draw.

The sudden death of Kim Jong II of a heart attack aged 69, Monday, Dec. 19 confronts the world for the first time since the Cold War with a leaderless nuclear power about which it knows almost nothing. Though anointed heir, his youngest son Kim Jong-un is not expected to ride in without being challenged. The inevitable power struggle, which could be drawn out for years, may generate violence on and around the Peninsula and greater North Korean involvement in the Middle East nuclear race.

The disclosure Tuesday, Nov. 1, by the International Atomic Energy Agency - that a spinning factory built in the northeastern Syrian town of Hasaka in 2003 was in fact an enriched uranium site - had a purpose: To crowd Bashar Assad into talking to the leaders of the revolt against him instead of slaughtering them. debkafile's intelligence sources report that although the NATO commander firmly denied an alliance role in Syria, NATO is already there – and not just  members like Turkey. 

For their secret Khamis Mushait nuclear center, the Saudis have acquired some low-grade enriched uranium and are planning light water and heavy water reactors. Iran exploited Yemen's civil war to steer the Houthi rebels into invading Saudi Arabia and heading toward its nuclear center.

The Obama administration's nuclear initiatives and strategy for Iran have not managed to thwart a Middle East arms race. That race is well under way with Saudi Arabia in the van - as DEBKA-Net-Weekly reveals in exclusive detail in its latest issue out Friday.
Washington is now trying hard to grab the steering wheel and safeguard its Persian Gulf interests.
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Washington has reversed its drive for sanctions against Iran by the end of March, with or without the UN Security Council. On Feb. 25, Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak was given this early date in his talks with administration officials. On March 2, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Security Council action would take "several months." This sudden reversal has eased the strain on Tehran and left Israel high and dry.

A North Korean shipment of 45 tons of yellowcake, enough for several nuclear bombs, was on its way to the nuclear plant under construction in northern Syria when it was destroyed by Israel in September 2007. Two years later, the consignment turned up in Iran, attesting to their closely integrated nuclear programs and hidden, undeclared stocks of high-grade nuclear fuel.

 

Obama's engagement strategy against Tehran's nuclear armament has failed. From February, Tehran will be able to build a nuclear device if it so chooses. Israeli must decide by May whether or not to take up its military option for knocking out More...