LONDON, 19 September 2003 — The Kingdom said yesterday it had no intention of developing a nuclear weapon.

Citing a “strategy paper” of unclear origin, the Guardian newspaper reported yesterday that Saudi Arabia was mulling the option of acquiring a nuclear weapon.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not considering acquiring a nuclear bomb or nuclear weapons of any kind,” the Saudi Embassy in London said in a statement. “There is no atomic energy program in any part of the Kingdom and neither is one being considered.”

A diplomat close to the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told Reuters in Vienna the IAEA had no information that would back up the Guardian article.

Diplomats there also said it would be highly unusual for a country to permit any such plans to be leaked to a newspaper.

The paper reported, without quoting its sources, that a strategy paper being considered “at the highest levels in Riyadh” set out three options: To acquire a nuclear capability as a deterrent; to maintain or enter into an alliance with an existing nuclear power that would offer protection; to try to reach a regional agreement on having a nuclear-free Middle East.