US and Saudi Arabia sign landmark civilian nuclear deal despite proliferation concerns
Saudi Arabia has signed a landmark civilian nuclear deal with the US aimed at pushing deeper ties between the two countries - but it has raised concerns about a nuclear arms race.
Even though the US is believed to have safeguarded the deal against allowing the Saudis to develop weapons from a domestic nuclear programme the accord has attracted criticism.
But the US Department of Energy hailed the agreement as “historic” on Wednesday, saying American companies will provide nuclear technology to the kingdom.
Some US media reports have suggested that the deal will enable Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium domestically rather than import nuclear fuel from the US.
Exact details of the deal have not been made public, but US media have reported that it could allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium in the future - which can be used as fuel for power plants, but also to make nuclear bombs.
Experts say that would mark a first for the US and could run the risk of future nuclear proliferation in an already unstable region. The Energy Department did not provide details on enrichment and if the reports are confirmed, the deal is likely to face opposition in Washington.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said: “These agreements reflect our two nations’ shared commitment to strengthening US-Saudi commercial relations, delivering prosperity at home and security to our allies abroad.
“Rest assured, these agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and nonproliferation, while relying on the world’s best nuclear technology and scientists, designed right here in the United States.”
The deal will be submitted for review within Congress and in a statement the Energy Department called it a “decades long, multi-billion dollar partnership.
In February US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a war with Iran to stop it enriching uranium and acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s nuclear facilities have been repeatedly bombed last year and Tehran’s Pickaxe Mountain complex - said to contain enriched uranium- is a future target for the US, according to Trump.
The US-Saudi deal is shrouded in secrecy but it may mean the Middle Eastern Kingdom may be allowed to enrich uranium on its soil to produce fuel at a US-built enrichment facility, instead of relying on imported fuel.
This could be worth billions of dollars to the US, whose companies could be involved in building a facility to produce enriched uranium, which can be used as fuel for power plants but also to make nuclear bombs.
Rosemary Kelanic, the director of the Middle East programme at the US-based Defense Priorities think tank, said it would be "quite shocking" if the deal includes the US allowing Saudi Arabia to have facilities to enrich uranium.
She said: "The US has never done that before, we have never helped another country to enrich on their own soil.”
And she said it is because "if you can produce your own nuclear fuel, you become a much bigger risk" for building nuclear weapons.
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