US, Saudi Arabia Officially Approve Nuclear Cooperation Agreement
Construction of Enrichment Facilities Permitted After 2 Years of Joint Research
Foreign Media: "Agreement Allows Saudi Arabia to Enrich and Reprocess"
UAE's Demand for Enrichment Forfeiture 'Gold Standard' Omitted
US and Saudi Arabia Emphasize "Peaceful Use" and "Containment of China and Russia"
Potential Trigger for Middle East Nuclear Arms Race as 'Civilian Use → Military Use'
Iran Pressure Justification Also Weakened... US Congressional Review Expected Within 90 Days
The core issue of the civilian nuclear agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia is not the construction of nuclear power plants, but that it opens a path for Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium domestically and reprocess spent nuclear fuel. Both technologies are used to produce nuclear power plant fuel, but they can also be pathways for producing nuclear material for weapons, raising concerns about nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.
While the US Department of Energy's statement on July 22 (local time) did not specifically include details on Saudi Arabia's enrichment and reprocessing, it is known that the agreement includes a provision for two years of joint research to determine whether it is commercially viable for Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium domestically instead of importing it. If the research results confirm the need for uranium enrichment, an enrichment facility will be built under strict security measures.
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South Korea's chances of following suit are also increasing.
