“It is our duty toward our nation and people to consider all possible options. . .including the possession of these [nuclear] weapons.” Turki al-Faisal (pictured), a prince of Saudi Arabia, commented that his country may consider manufacturing nuclear weapons in response to the growing tensions in the Middle East between Iran, Israel and others, including the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The possibility of a Cold War-esque arms race in the Middle East was implied by the prince, who served as the intelligence chief and ambassador to the United States, at a Persian Gulf Security Forum.

The issue surrounds Israel’s existing arsenal of nuclear weapons and Iran, which many in the West say is trying to produce nuclear weapons with its nuclear program.

Much of the Middle East is shifting against Iran including Kuwait which allegedly caught Iranian spies earlier this week, Bahrain which has busted an Iranian-linked terrorist cell and the United Arab Emirates which is finishing construction on an oil pipeline that will bypass the Strait of Hormuz which Iran has repeatedly threatened to close to ships.

Meanwhile, the relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran have continued to deteriorate over other matters including the recent alleged conspiracy, denied by Iran, made up by Iranian agents to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador Adel al-Jubeir in Washington D.C.

Other sensitive matters include the Saudi government subtly blaming Iran as the “foreign country” for being responsible for the recent unrest in the oil-rich eastern province of Qatif where a large amount of the minority Shi’ites are concentrated in opposition to the Sunni majority of the country.

Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Press Agency remarked that the protesters were “carrying petrol bombs” near the site of the unrest and that the unrest was an attempt to “undermine the nation’s security and stability.”