Washington: US President Donald Trump has cleared a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia featuring minimal safety mechanisms, marking a significant achievement for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The nuclear deal has raised concerns over whether the framework includes enough safeguards to prevent uranium processed in the kingdom from being used for weapons. Observers argue that Washington’s efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme could be undermined by allowing domestic enrichment technology to its regional rival.
Although the nuclear deal would prevent Beijing and Moscow from gaining access to a major commercial market, concerns remain over the lack of regulatory safeguards, according to Robert Einhorn, a former senior State Department official who advised both Republican and Democratic administrations on non-proliferation issues.
“The agreement could help revitalise the US nuclear industry, strengthen US-Saudi ties and deny Russia and China a strategically important role in the Saudi nuclear program. But unless it contains adequate constraints, including on enrichment, it could increase nuclear proliferation risks in the Middle East and beyond,” Einhorn told WSJ.
The nuclear deal is expected to generate tens of billions of USD for American companies involved in building Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure. However, Riyadh’s main objective is focused on securing enrichment capabilities enabled by the agreement, according to WSJ.
Under the nuclear deal, as reactor projects move forward, Washington and Riyadh will conduct a joint two-year assessment to determine whether domestic uranium enrichment inside the kingdom is commercially viable compared to importing fuel. If the study gives a positive assessment, American companies will build an enrichment facility within Saudi Arabia, WSJ reported.
Saudi Arabia has rejected the “gold standard” commitment to permanently give up domestic uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing, a condition accepted by the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, according to WSJ.
Saudi officials have also rejected the “Additional Protocol”, an inspection arrangement established by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which requires stronger surveillance and verification measures.
Despite warnings that the absence of these guarantees could allow uranium diversion for non-civilian purposes or trigger a regional arms race, WSJ reported that Trump administration officials said a separate bilateral agreement negotiated with Riyadh would ensure effective monitoring of American-supplied nuclear facilities, though critics remain sceptical of those assurances.
Foreign policy experts have also criticised the nuclear deal because diplomatic progress had earlier been linked to Saudi Arabia establishing formal relations with Israel under former President Joe Biden. Analysts argue that Washington has provided a nuclear agreement to Saudi Arabia without securing reciprocal strategic concessions, according to WSJ.
Critics further argue that granting uranium enrichment capabilities to Riyadh puts Washington in a difficult position, especially as its administration demands that Iran accept strict restrictions on its nuclear programme.
Concerns have also increased over Riyadh’s refusal to rule out non-civilian nuclear ambitions, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman previously stating that the kingdom would acquire a nuclear weapon if Tehran obtained one, WSJ reported.
