Saudi ambassador hails Israeli strike on Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981
Photo: Israel Air Force
Saudi ambassador salutes Israeli strike
Turki al-Faisal, speaking in San Francisco, says Israel's 1981 strike on Iraqi nuclear reactor was 'certainly a positive move'
Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States Turki al-Faisal expressed support for Israel's strike on the Iraqi Osirak nuclear facility in 1981.
Al-Faisal said that the destruction of the Iraqi nuclear reactor by Israel was certainly a positive step, during a speech on foreign relations in San Francisco.
The prince said that a region clear of nuclear weapons would also serve Israel and increase its security. He said that it was known that Israel had nuclear weapons, and that that Arab world felt threatened by Israel, rather than the other way around.
Faisal added that Israel possessed the best army, air force, and navy in the Middle East, and that these have been well used in the past.
After becoming aware that Iraq was planning to construct nuclear weapons, Israel launched a surprise aerial attack on June 7 1981 on the Osirak facility near Baghdad, and destroyed the Iraqi reactor.
The move was initially widely condemned, but was widely supported in subsequent years.
