The crown prince of Saudi Arabia said his country will develop nuclear weapons if its rival Iran does. Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the American television network CBS, “Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclear bomb, but without a doubt if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible.” The CBS report with the prince will air on Sunday. The prince’s statement raised the chances of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, a Sunni Muslim kingdom, and Iran, a Shi’ite-majority republic, are longtime rivals. The two countries are backing opposing groups in armed conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. Saudi Arabia has criticized the 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran. The deal lifted economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear energy program. U.S. President Donald Trump has described that agreement as a “terrible deal.”