WASHINGTON, Dec 16: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday she wanted to know more about Gulf states’ plans to study nuclear power and questioned why Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, might need atomic energy.

The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council said on Sunday it would study a joint civil atomic programme, raising concerns the Arab states may want to protect themselves if Iran acquires nuclear weapons and sparking fears of a regional arms race.

“I will like to know more about it and I think it’s something that we should have discussions (on),” Ms Rice said when asked about the move by the GCC, which includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. At the close of a summit on Sunday, the group said it ordered “a GCC-wide study to be carried out to create a joint programme in nuclear technology for peaceful purposes”.

While the group said the programme would be aimed at meeting energy needs, Ms Rice was sceptical. “I think one would have to wonder about the need of some states for nuclear power given their own energy resources,” she added.

“It’s one thing for a state to be running out of natural gas in 34 years, which is the case of Egypt. It is quite another for the state to be the most oil-rich state in the world,” she added in a reference to Saudi Arabia.

“I think there is no reason not to discuss it,” she added, saying US President George W. Bush has been a proponent of nuclear power provided there are safeguards to limit the risk of proliferation.

The United States accuses Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, a development that could threaten other countries in a region vital to the United States because of its vast oil reserves.

Asked if Washington might consider extending the US nuclear umbrella to Gulf states to protect them from a nuclear-armed Iran, Ms Rice replied: “The issue right now is to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon.”

She suggested negotiations about a resolution among the five permanent Security Council members and Germany may be making headway, saying: “I keep getting notes that say we are making progress, so I assume we are making progress.”—Reuters