US President Donald Trump has approved a landmark civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that could allow the kingdom to enrich uranium on its own soil, The Wall Street Journal reported citing officials.
Moreover, unlike previous US nuclear deals, the pact with Saudi Arabia does not include safeguards Washington has traditionally sought to prevent civilian nuclear programmes from being diverted for weapons development.
The agreement, expected to last 30 years and be worth tens of billions of dollars, would establish a framework for US companies to play a leading role in building Saudi Arabia's civilian nuclear programme while largely shutting out foreign competitors.
The Trump administration plans to submit the pact to Congress in the coming days, Reuters reported citing sources familiar with the matter. The package includes a document known as the ‘123 Agreement’ which governs US nuclear cooperation with foreign countries.
However, the pact does not include the 'Gold Standard' which would have barred Saudi Arabia from enriching uranium or reprocessing spent nuclear fuel -- two key pathways to producing material for nuclear weapons, reported Reuters.
It also omits the Additional Protocol, an enhanced safeguards regime that gives the UN's nuclear watchdog IAEA broader powers, including the ability to conduct snap inspections at undeclared nuclear sites, per the report.
With the agreement potentially allowing Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium domestically, experts warned the deal could open the door to developing nuclear weapons unless stringent safeguards are imposed. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has previously said the kingdom would seek its own nuclear weapons if regional rival Iran were to acquire one.
Notably, a recent CNN report also said the deal does not require Saudi Arabia to adopt the International Atomic Energy Agency's Additional Protocol -- an enhanced global inspection regime intended to strengthen oversight of civilian nuclear activities. Instead, the safeguards would be decided bilaterally by the US and Saudi Arabia.
Uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing are the two principal routes to producing fissile material for nuclear weapons. Most countries operating civilian nuclear reactors import enriched uranium under strict international monitoring rather than producing it domestically. Permitting domestic enrichment without internationally recognised guardrails increases the risk of proliferation.
Source: India Today