Washington and Riyadh have clinched a long-sought civil nuclear agreement that would let Saudi Arabia build nuclear reactors with US technology — and, crucially, enrich uranium — in what the US Energy Department called a landmark pact.
A civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia has been in the works for years during both President Donald Trump’s first administration and that of former president Joe Biden.
Yet previous efforts never reached the finish line, in part because non-proliferation groups warned such an arrangement could leave Saudi Arabia with capabilities that might be used to develop a nuclear weapon.
Unlike the Biden plan, the current deal does not include a so-called Additional Protocol that allows the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency to carry out intrusive snap inspections.
The agreement would also allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium and reprocess nuclear waste — activities widely viewed as potential pathways to producing material for a nuclear weapon.
By contrast, the UAE agreed to forgo both when it signed a similar deal with the US in 2009.
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and his counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed the pact, known as a 123 Agreement, alongside a bilateral safeguards agreement, the US Energy Department said in a release.
The administration said the deal also abides by non-proliferation agreements in the US Atomic Energy Act, which are among the world’s strongest.
Saudi Arabia has long said that if it cannot partner with the US, it could work with China or Russia — countries that operate under different proliferation standards.
The deal, signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, allows Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium and reprocess nuclear waste
The energy department said the deal now goes to Congress.
Unless Congress raises votes to object to the deal within 90 session days, the deal will go into force. But it would need to have a two-thirds majority to override a presidential veto.
Some nuclear experts called on politicians to vote down the deal.
“We urge all members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to recognize the risks and to exercise their power to reject or modify Trump’s proposed nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia so as not to open the door for nuclear proliferation in the Middle East even wider,” said Director for non-proliferation policy at the Arms Control Association Kelsey Davenport.
The about 30-year deal for the construction of AP1000 reactors, which is worth tens of billions of dollars, would benefit Westinghouse, jointly owned by Canada-based Cameco CCO.TO and Brookfield Asset Management BAM.N.
An industry source said the deal requires a feasibility study on using US technology in Saudi Arabia.
That assessment — coupled with the typically slow pace of building nuclear power plants and establishing uranium-enrichment capacity — means developing the needed infrastructure could still take many years.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has repeatedly said he does not want the kingdom to build a nuclear weapon, but it would if Iran did, raising concerns about potential proliferation.
Several Democratic politicians have warned that the deal could start an arms race in the Middle East as the US-Israeli war on Iran grinds on.
“They are allowing Saudi Arabia, a belligerent and authoritarian nation, to develop nuclear weapons technologies while starting a war with Iran under the guise of preventing an Iranian nuclear bomb,” said Senator Edward Markey, a Democrat.
“This deal would make us all less safe.”
Senator Jim Risch, a Republican, said he agrees with the kingdom’s crown prince that the deal stands to benefit both countries.
