Saudi prince: Iran is on 'explosive' path in Middle East

Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former ambassador to the U.S., says Washington shouldn't take military steps against Iran to reassure Israel.

Prince Turki, a former Saudi intelligence chief and former ambassador to the United States, said Washington should not take military steps against Iran's nuclear program to reassure Israelis over the peace process with Palestinians.

"No one denies that a nuclear Iran is a major international danger, but claiming that the U.S. must take military action against Iran to push forward the Israeli-Palestine peace process is to attempt to harvest apples by cutting down the tree," he said.

Prince Turki, discussing the Middle East peace process in a speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said a war over Iran's nuclear program would be "calamitous and not just catastrophic." It would turn back the clock on peacemaking across the Middle East, from Iraq to Israel, he said.

"The Iranians have to be aware of the explosive nature ... of pursuing their present course of enrichment," he said.

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