| Kippreport.com

Clinton warns of nuclear arms race in the Middle East

February 16, 2010 4:54 by kippreport

If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, it could lead to a nuclear arms race throughout the Middle East, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told students in Saudi on Tuesday, reports The Associated Press. “Everyone who I speak with in the Gulf, including the leaders here and leaders elsewhere in the region, are expressing deep concern about Iran’s intentions,” she told the students of the Dar al-Hekma college in Jeddah.

She said the goal was to have the entire Middle East free of nuclear weapons. “If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, that hope disappears,” she said, “because then other countries which feel threatened by Iran will say to themselves, ‘If Iran has a nuclear weapon, I better get one, too, in order to protect my people.’ Then you have a nuclear arms race in the region,” she said.

“Then you have all kinds of opportunity for problems that can be quite dangerous,” she added.

Tags: Clinton, Iran, Middle East, nuclear arms