US and Saudi Arabia on ‘pathway’ to agreement for ‘commercial nuclear power’

The United States and Saudi Arabia are set to sign a preliminary agreement on energy cooperation and civilian nuclear technology, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters on Sunday. 

Wright said the agreement, initially launched under the Biden administration, would help the Saudi Kingdom develop a “commercial nuclear power industry.” 

“We’ve not reached the details on an agreement, but it certainly looks like there is a pathway to do that,” Wright said. 

The energy secretary also said the deal could permit nuclear enrichment in Saudi Arabia, which has been a point of contention in earlier discussions. 

“The issue is control of sensitive technology,” Wright stated. “Are there solutions to that that involve enrichment here in Saudi Arabia? Yes.” 

He noted that, to finalize an agreement, Riyadh must commit to specific restrictions that will prevent it from exploiting nuclear technology for military purposes or transferring nuclear material in its possession to foreign entities, in accordance with U.S. law. 

“For a US partnership and involvement in nuclear here, there will definitely be a 123 agreement … [there are] lots of ways to structure a deal that will accomplish both the Saudi objectives and the American objectives,” Wright said.

His comments were made during a press conference in Riyadh, following his arrival from the United Arab Emirates. 

Wright was asked whether such a deal would be tied to a normalization of relations between the Saudi Kingdom and Israel, but he declined to specify, saying only that “relationships are always package deals.” 

Saudi Arabia has been keen to develop nuclear energy to diversify its energy supply.

Previous negotiations faced challenges over conditions meant to limit the kingdom’s capacity to develop nuclear weapons. One such condition was whether Saudi Arabia would be required to import the necessary uranium supplies or whether it would enrich the material domestically. 

Saudi Arabia has refused to sign a deal that would limit it from enriching uranium locally or from reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods. Both would potentially allow the country to produce uranium for nuclear weapons. 

As part of its longstanding efforts to curb nuclear proliferation, the United States has previously insisted on terms that would prevent the military use of nuclear technology.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) previously stated that if Iran “developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible.” 

Israel has also voiced concerns that any new nuclear agreement between the United States and Iran should impose stricter restraints on Tehran than those outlined in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), negotiated under former President Barack Obama and abandoned by President Trump in 2018.

In the past, Members of Congress from both parties have expressed opposition to a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, including Marco Rubio, who is currently the U.S. secretary of state.  

The Israeli government has also expressed concern over the potential for Saudi Arabia to produce its own nuclear weapons. Israeli opposition party leader Yair Lapid called for the Israeli government to demand that any agreement prohibit the kingdom from local enrichment. 

Lapid wrote in a post on 𝕏: “Israel should demand from the US, our closest friend, that any nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia explicitly prohibit uranium enrichment on Saudi soil.” 

He claimed that his government, which he formed as a broad coalition during 2021-2022, had worked to prevent such a scenario. 

“This is how we acted in the government of change, then I expressed to the US administration our firm opposition to any attempt to allow uranium enrichment in the Middle East. This is how it should be done now.”