Saudi Arabia may have uranium enrichment under proposed deal with US, arms control experts warn

Dubai: Saudi Arabia could have some form of uranium enrichment within the kingdom under a proposed nuclear deal with the United States, congressional documents and an arms control group suggest, raising proliferation concerns as an atomic standoff between Iran and America continues.

US Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden both tried to reach a nuclear deal with the kingdom to share American technology. Nonproliferation experts warn any spinningcentrifuges within Saudi Arabia could open the door to a possible weapons programme for the kingdom, something its assertive crown prince has suggested he could pursue if Tehran obtains an atomic bomb.

Already, Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan signed a mutual defence pact last year after Israel launched an attack on Qatar targeting Hamas officials.

Pakistan’s defence minister then said his nation’s nuclear programme“will be made available” to Saudi Arabia if needed,

something seen as a warning for Israel, long believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed state.

“Nuclear cooperation can be a positive mechanism for upholding nonproliferation norms and

increasing transparency, but the devil is in the details,” wrote Kelsey Davenport, the director for nonproliferation policy at the Washington-based Arms Control Association.

The documents raise “concerns that the Trump administration has not carefully considered the proliferation risks posed by its proposed nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia or the precedent this

agreement may set.” agencies