On Wednesday, a dozen Democratic U.S. lawmakers urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to push for “gold standard” non-proliferation protections in any agreement with Saudi Arabia on sharing nuclear power technology.
In November, U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican administration told leaders of some congressional committees in an initial report that it is pursuing a civil nuclear pact with Saudi Arabia that will not include non-proliferation safeguards the U.S. has long said would ensure the Islamic nation does not develop nuclear weapons.
Many Democrats and some Republicans, including Rubio when he served in the Senate, have insisted that any agreement include guardrails, including clauses that Saudi Arabia not enrich uranium or reprocess spent nuclear fuel, potential pathways to weapons.
Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, has said the country will seek to develop nuclear weapons should Iran choose to do so.
Saudi Arabia Could Develop Nuclear Weapons
Trump’s report to Congress said that a draft U.S.-Saudi pact, known as a 123 Agreement, puts U.S. industry at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s civil nuclear development, ensuring that non-proliferation guardrails are in place.
However, this opens the way for Saudi Arabia’s enrichment as it refers to “additional safeguards and verification measures to the most sensitive areas of potential nuclear cooperation” between the two countries, including enrichment and reprocessing.
“We urge you to immediately reconsider these plans and seek an agreement that meets the ‘gold standard,’ consistent with the longstanding bipartisan consensus on this issue,” the lawmakers, including U.S. Senators Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, said in a letter to Rubio.
The Trump administration could soon submit a 123 Agreement to Congress; however, the timing remains unclear amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran over its nuclear program. Unless both the U.S. Senate and House pass resolutions opposing this agreement within 90 days of its submission, the U.S. would be allowed to share nuclear power technology with Saudi Arabia.
(With inputs from Reuters)
