US and Saudi Arabia announce nuclear deal | Nuclear Energy News

The Trump administration says the ‘historic’ deal will ‘strengthen international standards of non-proliferation’ and create US jobs.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have reached an agreement on a civilian nuclear deal, US President Donald Trump’s administration announced, as Washington and Riyadh push to deepen ties.

The US Department of Energy hailed the deal as “historic” on Wednesday, saying US companies would provide nuclear technology to the kingdom.

The agreement contains an agreement under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, known as the 123 agreement, “along with a bilateral security agreement,” the department said.

“These agreements reflect our shared commitment to strengthening the US-Saudi trade relationship, bringing prosperity at home and security to our partners abroad,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement.

“Know that these agreements support the highest standards of nuclear security and nonproliferation, while relying on the world’s best nuclear technology and scientists, developed right here in the United States.”

Some US media reports say the deal will allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium instead of importing nuclear fuel from the US.

A statement from the Ministry of Energy did not elaborate on the enrichment. If the reports are confirmed, the deal could face criticism in Washington.

‘Strengthen international standards’

The statement called the deal “a multi-decade, multi-billion dollar deal” and said it would now be submitted to Congress for review.

Trump, along with Israel, launched a war against Iran in February to prevent the country from enriching uranium and obtaining a nuclear weapon, something Tehran denies it wants.

The US and Israel also bombed Iran’s nuclear weapons last year.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) does not prohibit uranium enrichment – the process of isolating and obtaining more radioactive forms, or isotopes, of uranium atoms. But highly enriched uranium can be used to make nuclear weapons.

Israel is the only country in the region that is believed to have nuclear weapons.

The Trump administration said that the deal with Saudi Arabia would create jobs in the US, “strengthen international standards of non-proliferation”, and strengthen cooperation with Riyadh.

The announcement comes as the US-Israel war against Iran continues. During the war, Iran has launched missiles and drones against bases holding US forces in the region, as well as other powerful weapons in the Gulf.