Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has told United States broadcaster CBS that his country would develop a nuclear weapon if Iran does so.

In an interview with the channel, which will be aired on Sunday, Salman was asked if Saudi Arabia needs nuclear weapons to counter Iran. “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,” he replied.

Salman also defended his claim that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was the “new Hitler”. “He wants to create his own project in West Asia very much like Hitler who wanted to expand,” Salman said of Khamenei. “Many countries around the world and in Europe did not realise how dangerous Hitler was until what happened, happened. I don’t want to see the same events unfolding in West Asia.”

However, the crown prince denied that Iran was a rival to Saudi Arabia. He said that Iran’s Army was not among the top five armies in West Asia, and that his country’s economy was larger than Iran’s.