Former Kuwaiti Minister Ahmad Rubei Expresses Fears in Gulf Countries of Iran's Nuclear Program

Following are excerpts from an interview by former Kuwaiti minister Dr. Ahmad Al-Rubei, which aired on Al-Rai TV on March 6, 2006.

Ahmad Al-Rubei: What we are facing is madness. I call this madness. The Iranian nuclear activities must cease. We must stop saying that since Israel has a nuclear bomb, we must also have a nuclear bomb. This logic is wrong.

I will put it very briefly: Let's assume you have a nuclear weapon. You can either use it or not. If you don't use it - what is it for? If you do use it - who's your enemy? Let's assume it is Israel. Go and drop it on Israel. Would you say to it: "Oh my Islamic nuclear bomb, if you don't mind, strike the Jews and spare the non-Jews." There are a million Palestinians in Israel. Or maybe you plan to kill them along with [the Jews]?

Let's assume you kill them and call it a sacrifice for the Arab and Islamic nation - what about the neighbors in the region, the people of the West Bank and Gaza, Amman, and Damascus?

A nuclear weapon is not a game. It's not a weapon you drop on ten people in order to kill them. It is mass killing of human beings, and so, what's going on is madness.

A top official in one of the Gulf countries told me that he said to an Iranian official: "Brother, what you are doing is dangerous. There might be another Chernobyl, which occurred despite the Russian technology." He said: "Don't worry, this reactor operates not on Russian technology, but on pure Iranian technology." What "pure Iranian technology"?! We fear the catastrophes of the Russian technology, and you're talking about "pure Iranian technology"?

Imagine how many people were affected by Chernobyl. The Iranians, with all due respect, have a limited ability to conduct such activity. When brother President Ahmadinejad speaks, he is in Tehran, 400 km away from [Bushehr]. But it is only 120-150 km away from our homes [in Kuwait]. So, we must take this issue seriously.