The United States and Saudi Arabia have signed a historic agreement that will allow the Gulf kingdom to develop a civilian nuclear program.
The deal is described as a “peaceful nuclear cooperative agreement” that will provide “significant access for U.S. companies to the Saudi nuclear energy program” by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The text of the agreement has not been made public, but US media reports 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 this would be a first for the United States and could pose a risk of nuclear proliferation in an already unstable region.
The US Department of Energy said a “bilateral safeguards agreement” had been signed alongside the cooperation agreement.
“Together, these two agreements lay the legal foundation for a decades-long, multibillion-dollar partnership that advances several priority economic and strategic goals, including nuclear nonproliferation,” the statement said.
The Saudi government also issued a statement saying the agreement “represents an expansion of existing cooperation between the two countries in the energy sector”, noting that it comes after the Saudi leader’s visit to Washington last November.
The nuclear issue is at the center of the American-Israeli conflict with Iran which has lasted for months. Both countries say one of the reasons they attacked Iran in February was to prevent the country from developing a nuclear weapon – something Tehran denies planning to do.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, told CBS News in 2018 that his own country was not considering acquiring a nuclear weapon, but that “without a doubt, if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we would follow suit as soon as possible.”
Wednesday’s announcement comes as fighting intensifies between the United States and Iran. Saudi Arabia, a longtime U.S. ally, is home to several U.S. bases that have been targeted by Iranian attacks. It also comes two days after Iran’s allies in Yemen, the Houthis, announced a “maritime blockade” against the kingdom.
Specific details of the nuclear deal were not given but earlier media reports externalsuggested that after undertaking a joint study with the United States, Saudi Arabia could be allowed to enrich uranium on its soil to produce fuel in a U.S.-built enrichment facility, instead of relying on imported fuel.
This could bring billions of dollars to the United States, whose companies could help build a facility to produce enriched uranium, which could be used as fuel for power plants but also to make nuclear bombs.
“Rest assured, these agreements meet the highest standards of nuclear security and nonproliferation, while drawing on the best nuclear technology and science in the world, designed right here in the United States,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.
The Energy Department said the deal would advance both “the security of the United States and the region” and strengthen “America’s competitive advantage in civilian nuclear technology.”
Nuclear experts and former officials in Israel – the United States’ main ally in the Middle East – have expressed concern that the plan could ultimately lead Saudi Arabia to develop a nuclear weapon – although other experts say that path would likely take decades and attract resistance from the international community.
Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat said his country “can achieve this” if Saudi Arabia had nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
It is widely believed that Israel itself possesses nuclear weapons, but neither confirms nor denies that this is the case.
Rosemary Kelanic, director of the Middle East program at the US think tank Defense Priorities, said it would be “pretty shocking” if the US allowed uranium enrichment facilities in Saudi Arabia.
“The United States has never done this before. We have never helped another country get rich on its own soil,” she said, adding that this was because “if you can produce your own nuclear fuel, you become a much bigger risk” to building nuclear weapons.
The deal will now be sent to the US Congress for review.
Some lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are expected to oppose the deal, even though Trump’s Republican Party controls both the upper and lower chambers and opponents of the deal do not appear to have the votes to block it.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed concerns that it could improve Saudi Arabia’s ability to develop nuclear weapons.
“The United States will not reach any agreement with any country in the world that would create a risk of proliferation,” Rubio told reporters.
Several Democrats opposed to the deal pointed out that when he was a senator, Rubio approved a law – the “Saudi Arabia Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons Act” – that required congressional approval for any nuclear deal.
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Markey condemned Rubio and Trump as “allowing Saudi Arabia, a belligerent and authoritarian nation, to develop nuclear weapons technology while starting a war with Iran under the guise of preventing an Iranian nuclear bomb,” adding that their “hypocrisy is matched only by their recklessness.”
If an enrichment provision were included, it would distinguish this deal from another agreement the United States reached with the United Arab Emirates in 2009, under which the United Arab Emirates does not produce its own fuel and agrees to a host of other restrictions.
For this reason, the agreement is also expected to raise concern among nuclear non-proliferation activists, whose ultimate goal is to prevent an increase in the number of nuclear weapons around the world.
But energy sector expert Bob McNally, a former member of US President George W. Bush’s National Security Council, suggested the US was not creating a “big” security risk.
“I think we have a good track record of working with countries to responsibly develop their nuclear sectors,” he told the BBC.
Saudi Arabia has pushed for such a deal for years, but Washington has held firm on the condition that it recognize Israel, a key U.S. ally, and normalize diplomatic and economic relations with it.
But this request seems to have been abandoned, according to American media.
Trump has worked to cultivate closer relations with Saudi Arabia during his tenure in the White House.
Aside from the strategic and commercial gains likely to come from this deal, one possible reason why this deal is being reached today is that Russia and China may have been in talks to strike a similar deal and the United States may not have wanted to miss the opportunity.
The deal constitutes a major victory for Saudi Arabia and could potentially reshape power dynamics in the Middle East – but not in the immediate future.