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szdaily -> World -> 
Satellite images suggest Saudi missile factory
    2019-01-28  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

A MILITARY base deep inside Saudi Arabia appears to be testing and possibly manufacturing ballistic missiles, experts and satellite images suggest, evidence of the type of weapons program it has long criticized its arch-rival Iran for possessing.

Further raising the stakes for any such program are comments by Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who said last year the kingdom wouldn’t hesitate to develop nuclear weapons if Iran does.

Ballistic missiles can carry nuclear warheads to targets thousands of kilometers away.

Officials in Riyadh and the Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

Having such a program could further strain relations with the U.S., the kingdom’s long-time security partner, at a time when ties already are being tested by the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

Jeffrey Lewis, a missile expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, said heavy investment in missiles often correlates with an interest in nuclear weapons.

“I would be a little worried that we’re underestimating the Saudis’ ambitions here,” said Lewis, who has studied the satellite images.

The images, first reported by The Washington Post, focus on a military base near the town of al-Dawadmi, some 230 km west of Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

Jane’s Defence Weekly first identified the base in 2013, suggesting its two launch pads appear oriented to target Israel and Iran with ballistic missiles the kingdom previously bought from a foreign country.

An apparent rocket-engine test stand can be seen in a corner of the base — the type on which a rocket is positioned on its side and testfired in place. Such testing is key for countries attempting to manufacture working missiles, experts say.

Michael Elleman, the senior fellow for missile defense at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Washington, also reviewed the satellite photos and said they appear to show a ballistic missile program.

A Saudi program would only complicate efforts by the U.S. and its Western allies to limit Iran’s ballistic missile program, said STRATFOR, the Austin, Texas-based private intelligence firm.

STRATFOR said that “should Saudi Arabia move into a test-launch phase, the United States will be pressured to take action with sanctions,” as it has done with Iran.  (SD-Agencies)

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