Key facts
- The Trump administration has reportedly approved Saudi Arabia's nuclear enrichment project.
- The deal reportedly lacks safeguards to prevent the development of a bomb.
- The agreement is awaiting President Donald Trump's signature.
- The documents have not yet been sent to Congress.
- Saudi Arabia has expressed a desire to enrich uranium.
- The US previously pursued a civil nuclear pact with Riyadh without traditional non-proliferation safeguards.
The Trump administration has reportedly approved Saudi Arabia's nuclear enrichment project without safeguards to prevent the development of a bomb, according to a CNN report. The draft deal, which includes the mandatory "123 agreement" and safeguards protocols, is still awaiting President Donald Trump’s signature, despite negotiations concluding in October.
Unnamed officials cited in the report indicated that the documents have not yet been sent to Congress, potentially due to fear of bipartisan pushback, especially with Congress likely to switch to a Democratic majority after the November elections. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his advisors have long advocated for a deal that would permit the kingdom to enrich uranium, citing vast reserves.
Saudi Arabia's pursuit of inclusion under the US nuclear umbrella was a significant topic during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the White House in November. Days after Israel's attack on Hamas negotiators in Qatar, Saudi Arabia entered into a defense pact with Pakistan, the only nuclear-armed nation in the Muslim world, estimated to possess around 170 nuclear warheads. Both Saudi and Pakistani descriptions of this deal encompassed all military options.
While US nuclear talks with Saudi Arabia have been conducted discreetly, a former US intelligence official suggested that extending protection to the kingdom could serve to draw them away from Pakistan's nuclear umbrella and provide a sense of security comparable to Qatar. In February, the Trump administration had already notified Congress of its intention to pursue a civil nuclear pact with Riyadh that omits the non-proliferation safeguards traditionally imposed by the US to prevent nuclear weapons development.
The language within the document reportedly allows Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium, stipulating "additional safeguards and verification measures to the most sensitive areas of potential nuclear cooperation," including enrichment and reprocessing. Such a deal, without an explicit prohibition on future uranium enrichment by the kingdom, would be more impactful regionally than a separate pursuit of F-35 warplanes by the Trump administration. For comparison, the US has made cooperation conditional on non-enrichment commitments in nuclear agreements with other nations, such as the UAE, Morocco, and numerous European and Asian countries that have signed "123 Agreements."
US law typically mandates a "123 Agreement" to be in effect before licensing significant exports of US-origin nuclear material or equipment to foreign nations. Beyond this, US lawmakers have advocated for Saudi Arabia to adhere to the "Additional Protocol," which grants the IAEA enhanced access to nuclear facilities, data, and undeclared sites. The UAE, the sole Gulf state with an official US nuclear energy partnership, ratified the Additional Protocol in 2009. However, a Reuters report indicated that the Trump administration sent a preliminary report to some congressional committee heads in November, a required step if the Additional Protocol is not being pursued. This approach underscores President Trump's focus on deal-making in his diplomatic strategy, even when it conflicts with traditional US foreign policy concerns.