US says it reaches nuclear power deal with Saudi Arabia

By Timothy Gardner

July 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have reached a landmark agreement on civil nuclear power, the U.S. Energy Department said on Wednesday, a deal that allows the kingdom to build nuclear reactors using American technology and to enrich uranium.

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.

No deal has come together before now, however, in part because of warnings from nonproliferation groups who say that it could offer Saudi Arabia a path to develop a nuclear weapon.

Unlike the Biden plan, the current deal does not include a so-called Additional Protocol that allows the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency to carry out intrusive snap inspections.

The deal would also allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium and reprocess nuclear waste, both of which are potential pathways to making a nuclear weapon. The UAE agreed to forgo both of those when it signed a similar deal with the U.S. in 2009.

U.S. 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 U.S. Energy Department said in a release.

The administration said the deal also abides by nonproliferation agreements in the U.S. Atomic Energy Act, which are among the world’s strongest. Saudi Arabia has long said if it does not partner with the U.S., it could partner with China or Russia which have different proliferation standards.

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 lawmakers 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 Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association.

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 and Brookfield Asset Management.

‘MAKE US ALL LESS SAFE’

An industry source said the deal requires a feasibility study on using U.S. technology in Saudi Arabia. The study and the slow pace of building nuclear power plants and uranium enrichment means it could take many years to build the infrastructure.

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 lawmakers have warned that the deal could start an arms race in the Middle East as the U.S.-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.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Ismail Shakil and Christian Martinez; Editing by David Gregorio and Don Durfee)