UAE or the United Arab Emirates is reportedly all set to put out a contract for country’s very first nuclear reactor plant. The announcement has made many countries worried about a potential nuclear race with Iran, the UAE does develop its own nuclear reactor.

As the negotiations between the United States and Iran dwindle in regards to the Islamic nation’s nuclear program, even Saudi Arabia, which is one the staunchest allies of the U.S in the Middle East is processing ahead to develop its own nuclear program.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia have reportedly signed a nuclear cooperation deal, while Egypt has gotten into a contract Russia, that would enable it to put its nuclear program on the fast track. Other moderate and developing Middle Eastern countries such as Turkey, Jordan etc. are also heading for their own dedicated nuclear reactors and power plants that they are desperate to acquire. This rapid race among the middle eastern nations for nuclear power has raised huge concerns within the international community, as critical status quo of the one of the most volatile and unstable regions in the world could dramatically shift.

The Middle East has always been the epicenter of an age old feud between the Shiite and the Sunni Muslims and that feud has come to the modern era as well. The Shiite population of Iran have long claimed that, the country’s nuclear ambitions are for peaceful and energy purposes only. However, the Sunni population in the rest of the Middle East strongly condemns Iran’s nuclear program and believe that will use the nuclear capability to monopolize its power in the Middle East.

Via Nuclear Power Daily.