Immediate denials that Saudi Arabia is seriously considering a nuclear programme are continuing to be challenged by reports like this one.
According to it, their reason for doing so is protection from Iran:
“The Saudi effort has been led by [Defense Minister] Prince Sultan,” a senior intelligence source said. “Sultan believes that nuclear weapons are required to save the Saudi regime from Iran.”
The Saudi discussions were prompted by Iran’s nuclear program, which the United States has asserted serves as a cover for the development of nuclear weapons. The sources said the prospect of an Iranian nuclear program by 2006 has dismayed the Saudi kingdom. During the 1980s, Saudi Arabia was said to have funded Iraq’s nuclear weapons program to balance the Iranian threat.