Saudi Arabia may enrich uranium under proposed US deal

RIYADH

Saudi Arabia could have some form of uranium enrichment within the kingdom under a proposed nuclear deal with the United States, congressional documents and an arms control group suggest, raising proliferation concerns as an atomic standoff between Tehran and Washington continues.

A congressional document said that the Trump administration aims to reach 20 nuclear business deals with nations around the world, including Saudi Arabia, several reports noted on Feb. 20. The deal with Saudi Arabia could be worth billions of dollars, it added

The document contended that reaching a deal with the kingdom “will advance the national security interests of the United States, breaking with the failed policies of inaction and indecision that our competitors have capitalized on to disadvantage American industry and diminish the United States standing globally in this critical sector.”

The draft deal would see America and Saudi Arabia enter safeguard deals with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog. That would include oversight of the “most proliferation-sensitive areas of potential nuclear cooperation,” it added. It listed enrichment, fuel fabrication and reprocessing as potential areas.

“This suggests that once the bilateral safeguards agreement is in place, it will open the door for Saudi Arabia to acquire uranium enrichment technology or capabilities — possibly even from the United States,” wrote Kelsey Davenport, the director for nonproliferation policy at the Washington-based Arms Control Association.

“Even with restrictions and limits, it seems likely that Saudi Arabia will have a path to some type of uranium enrichment or access to knowledge about enrichment.”

Saudi-US proposal comes amid Iran tensions

The push for a Saudi-U.S. deal comes as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens military action against Iran if it doesn’t reach a deal over its nuclear program.

The Trump military push follows nationwide protests in Iran that saw its theocratic government launch a bloody crackdown on dissent that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands more reportedly detained.

In Iran’s case, it long has insisted its nuclear enrichment program is peaceful. However, the West and the IAEA say Iran had an organized military nuclear program up until 2003. Tehran also had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 percent — making it the only country in the world to do so without a weapons program.