WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump told Congress that he is pushing for a civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that does not include nonproliferation safeguards, which the United States has long said would ensure the kingdom does not develop nuclear weapons, according to a copy of a document sent to Congress and seen by Reuters.
Republican Trump and Democratic former President Joe Biden have been working with Saudi Arabia to build the kingdom’s first civilian nuclear power plant.
The development comes amid fears of a new global nuclear arms race after the last strategic arms limitation treaty between Russia and the United States expired earlier this month and China moves to expand its nuclear arsenal.
Arms control groups, many Democrats, and some prominent Republicans, including former U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have argued that any deal would come with guardrails, including that Saudi Arabia would not have the ability to enrich uranium or reprocess spent nuclear fuel, a potential pathway to weapons, which successive U.S. administrations have also demanded.
They also insist that Saudi Arabia agree to the so-called Additional Protocol, which would give the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency broader and more intrusive oversight of a country’s nuclear activities, including the power to conduct snap inspections at undeclared locations.
The Trump administration sent an initial report in November to leaders of some Congressional committees, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, that they must submit if they do not pursue Additional Protocol, the Arms Control Association, an advocacy group, announced on Thursday.
Kelsey Davenport, ACA’s director of nonproliferation policy, said in an article published Thursday that the report “raises concerns that the Trump administration has not carefully considered the proliferation risks posed by the proposed nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia or the precedent it could set.”
The draft U.S.-Saudi civilian nuclear agreement, known as the 123 Agreement, puts U.S. industry at the center of Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear program and ensures proliferation safeguards, according to President Trump’s report to Congress.
But the document mentions “additional safeguards and verification measures for the most sensitive areas of potential nuclear cooperation” between the United States and Saudi Arabia, including enrichment and reprocessing, thus paving the way for Saudi Arabia to also have an enrichment program.
Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said the kingdom would seek to develop nuclear weapons if regional rival Iran did so.
“If they’re going to get arms, we’ve got to get arms,” the crown prince told Fox News in 2023. “We’ll need arms for security reasons and the balance of power in the Middle East, but we don’t want that.”
The White House and State Department did not respond to requests for comment. The Saudi embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
parliamentary checks
Davenport said it was “a duty for Congress” to check the administration’s authority to enter into deals with Saudi Arabia, and that he would “vigorously review the terms of the proposed 123 Agreement, taking into account not only the implications for Saudi Arabia but also the precedent this deal would set.”
The ACA said the Trump administration could submit the 123 agreement to Congress as early as February 22, as it has about 90 days to submit its report to Congress. Unless both the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives pass resolutions opposing the 123 Agreement within 90 days, the 123 Agreement will go into effect and allow Saudi Arabia to develop civilian nuclear weapons. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner and Jonathan Landay; Editing by Don Durfee and Diane Craft)
