The United States and Saudi Arabia have reached a civil nuclear cooperation agreement that could allow the kingdom to enrich uranium on its soil. The signing comes as Washington simultaneously conducts military operations against Iran to prevent Tehran from doing the same.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, signed a "peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement" on Wednesday, accompanied by a "bilateral safeguards agreement." The announcement was made by the US Department of Energy, which hailed the agreement as historic, calling it a landmark move by the Trump administration.
The content of the agreement raises questions, particularly regarding the issue of uranium enrichment. Riyadh has been demanding for several years the right to enrich its own uranium, a capability that Washington had until now refused to grant to its partners under the so-called "123" agreements, named after the article of the US Atomic Energy Act that governs them.
The geopolitical paradox is striking: at the very moment when the United States is militarily striking Iran to force Tehran to abandon its enrichment program, it is opening the door to this same capability for Saudi Arabia, a regional rival of the Islamic Republic.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stated in 2018 that if Iran acquired a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would do the same "as soon as possible." This statement alarmed non-proliferation experts, who feared that a Saudi enrichment program could further weaken the nuclear security architecture in the Middle East.
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