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The Trump administration is expected to sign an agreement with Saudi Arabia as early as Wednesday that could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear programme.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says any deal signed by the US would not lead to proliferation.
The deal – confirmed to The Associated Press by two people familiar with the decision who were not authorized to discuss details and spoke on condition of anonymity – could allow for the building of a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia after a joint US-Saudi study.
Though he wouldn’t confirm the deal, Rubio sought to head off emerging criticism of the decision under questioning by reporters about the risk that helping the Saudis fulfill their long-standing desire to enrich their own uranium could lead to new rounds of nuclear proliferation and competition in a volatile region.
“The US is not going to reach any agreement with any country in the world that leads to the risk of proliferation,” said Rubio, who was travelling in the Philippines on Wednesday.
The agreement is not expected to include the International Atomic Energy Agency ‘s Additional Protocol, which would allow for more monitoring, inspections and verification, according to one of the people familiar with the decision.
The deal, expected to last 30 years and involve US firms in developing the programme, is expected to be submitted for review to Congress, where it could face opposition.
The expected announcement comes during the war against Iran launched by the US and Israel, in part, to wipe out Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran has insisted its nuclear enrichment program is peaceful.
The White House and Saudi officials in Riyadh did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment on the decision, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Alexander Bollfrass, a nuclear expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, called the deal “a revolutionary new approach” to nuclear nonproliferation policy.
“The revolutionary aspect of this agreement is that the United States is not asking Saudi Arabia to abide by the highest possible safeguards, internationally monitored safeguards that are standard and are available today, but instead is willing to at least theoretically transfer highly sensitive technology without the same level of oversight that one would expect,” Bollfrass said.
Both President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden tried to reach a nuclear deal with the kingdom to share American technology.
Nonproliferation experts warn any spinning centrifuges within Saudi Arabia could open the door to a possible weapons programme for the kingdom, something its leader, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, has suggested he could pursue if Tehran obtains an atomic bomb.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright travelled to Saudi Arabia last year shortly before Trump visited the kingdom and discussed building out the kingdom’s commercial nuclear power industry with his Saudi counterpart.
The US Department of Energy also has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Already, Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan signed a mutual defence pact after Israel launched an attack on Qatar targeting Hamas officials. Pakistan’s defense minister then said his nation’s nuclear programme “will be made available” to Saudi Arabia if needed, something seen as a warning for Israel, long believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed state.
Enrichment isn’t an automatic path to a nuclear weapon – a nation also must master other steps, including the use of synchronized high explosives, for instance. But it does open the door to weaponization, which has fueled the West’s concerns over Iran’s programme.
The United Arab Emirates, a neighbor to Saudi Arabia, signed what is referred to as a “123 agreement” with the U.S. to build its Barakah nuclear power plant with South Korean assistance. But the UAE did so without seeking enrichment, something nonproliferation experts have held up as the “gold standard” for nations wanting atomic power.
Associated Press
