A classified US intelligence assessment has fueled concerns over President Donald Trump\u2019s civilian nuclear deal with Riyadh<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia has not ruled out developing nuclear weapons, according to a classified US intelligence assessment that has fueled concerns in Congress over President Donald Trump\u2019s nuclear cooperation agreement with Riyadh, the Washington Post reported on Friday.
\nThe assessment was included in classified documents provided to lawmakers as they review the landmark agreement, US officials told the newspaper. The State Department reportedly provided a separate assessment that was more confident in Saudi assurances and the safeguards built into the deal.
\nSigned in July, the so-called Section 123 agreement lays the legal groundwork for American companies to participate in tens of billions of dollars\u2019 worth of civilian nuclear projects in Saudi Arabia. The Trump administration has argued that the arrangement will strengthen nonproliferation standards while preventing Riyadh from turning to Russia or China for nuclear cooperation.<\/p>\n
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However, the agreement creates a potential pathway for Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium domestically. Enrichment would initially be capped below 5%, but could later rise to as much as 20% following additional studies and written approval by Washington and Riyadh. Uranium enriched to that level remains below weapons grade, but substantially reduces the additional work required to reach weapons-grade concentrations.
\nThe pact also does not require Saudi Arabia to adopt the International Atomic Energy Agency\u2019s Additional Protocol, which provides inspectors with broader access and additional tools for detecting undeclared nuclear activity. Instead, Washington and Riyadh have negotiated a separate bilateral safeguards arrangement.
\nA group of Democratic senators led by Ed Markey and Jeff Merkley warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday that the deal could ultimately give Riyadh \u201cthe means to enrich uranium and possibly develop nuclear weapons.\u201d Merkley told the Post that Saudi Arabia\u2019s insistence on retaining the option of domestic enrichment raised questions over whether its ambitions were entirely civilian.<\/p>\n
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The State Department rejected suggestions that Washington was facilitating a military program, telling the newspaper that the US \u201cdoes not and will not support a Saudi nuclear weapon program.\u201d Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman has likewise insisted that Riyadh\u2019s program will be \u201cpeaceful\u201d and developed with \u201cthe highest levels of responsibility and transparency.\u201d
\nThe intelligence assessment has added to longstanding concerns over Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman\u2019s 2018 statement that Riyadh would seek an atomic bomb if Iran acquired one.
\n\u201cWithout a doubt, if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we would follow suit as soon as possible,\u201d he said at the time.<\/p>\n
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Lawmakers have also contrasted the Saudi agreement with the much stricter 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which capped Tehran\u2019s uranium enrichment at 3.67% for 15 years. Trump withdrew the US from that deal during his first term, claiming it was not strict enough to prevent Tehran from obtaining a bomb.
\nThe Saudi agreement was formally submitted to Congress on August 24 and is undergoing a 90-day review. Lawmakers can seek to block it, although overriding a presidential veto would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A classified US intelligence assessment has fueled concerns over President Donald Trump\u2019s civilian nuclear deal with Riyadh Saudi Arabia has not ruled out developing nuclear weapons, according to a classified…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38902,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t