US-Saudi Nuclear Deal Invites Proliferation Risks … Unless Safeguards Are Written In
Critics say the 30-year pact weakens nonproliferation rules by dropping enrichment limits and extra IAEA inspections.
- On July 22, President Donald Trump signed a 30-year civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, allowing Riyadh to enrich uranium without standard non-proliferation constraints.
- Washington previously established a 'Gold Standard' prohibition on enrichment and reprocessing in a 2009 deal with the United Arab Emirates, which the new agreement with Saudi Arabia abandons.
- Commercial reactors use 3% to 5% enriched uranium, while 90% enrichment is required for weapons; the political decision to proliferate is the critical factor, according to Robert Pape.
- Trump stated the deal remains conditional on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords, though the agreement could increase pressure on Iran to accelerate its own nuclear capabilities.
- Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman warned the kingdom would seek nuclear weapons if Iran obtains them, signaling that competition rather than non-proliferation now shapes the regional security landscape.
44 Articles
44 Articles
The Saudis want a nuclear arsenal. Trump’s new deal might give it to them
President Donald Trump made waves the day after his administration announced a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. He conditioned the deal on Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords and normalizing relations with Israel, while insisting there would be no uranium enrichment on Saudi soil — a stance also reiterated by his U.N. ambassador, Michael Waltz. But confusion persists in light of the deal’s provision that Washington could…
Washington’s Nuclear Double Standard in West Asia
Photo by Dan Meyers On 22 July, the United States and Saudi Arabia signed what Washington calls a ‘peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement.’ The agreement has been presented as a commercial arrangement that will help Saudi Arabia diversify its energy system while creating a vast new market for US-based nuclear companies. But its significance goes far beyond the construction of power stations. By permitting the possibility that Saudi Arabia might…
What Lies Beneath Trump's Embrace of the Saudi Nuclear Energy Deal? ⋆ Conservative Firing Line
The following article, What Lies Beneath Trump’s Embrace of the Saudi Nuclear Energy Deal?, was first published on Conservative Firing Line. FROM the get-go, let’s push aside Trump’s meaningless, self-serving caveat, that is, to “normalize” relations with Israel in order to green-light the heretofore unfathomable Saudi Nuclear Energy Deal. AS is said, “the proof is in the pudding.” The very fact that Trump is playing a twisted, double-game again…
Why Did Trump Just Give Saudi Arabia the Fast Track to a Nuclear Weapon?
At the beginning of Donald Trump’s first term as U.S. President in 2017, a senior White House official commented off-the-record to OilPrice.com that: “We’re not going to put up with any more crap from the Saudis.” The comment had followed the end of the 2014-2016 Oil Price War that had seen the Kingdom rally its fellow OPEC members to ramp up their collective oil production in order to crash oil prices to cause the bankruptcy of as many American…
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