US says it reaches nuclear power deal with Saudi Arabia

July 22 - The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have reached an agreement on civil nuclear power, the U.S. Energy Department said on Wednesday, a deal that allows the kingdom to build nuclear reactors using American technology and to enrich uranium.

A civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia has been in the works for years during both President Donald Trump's first administration and that of former President Joe Biden.

Unlike the Biden plan, the current deal does not include a so-called Additional Protocol that allows the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency to carry out intrusive snap inspections.

The deal would also allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium and reprocess nuclear waste, both of which are potential pathways to making a nuclear weapon. The UAE agreed to forgo both of those when it signed a similar deal with the U.S. in 2009.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and his counterpart Price Abdulaziz bin Salman signed the pact, known as a 123 Agreement, alongside a bilateral safeguards agreement, the U.S. Energy Department said in a release.

The administration said the deal also abides by nonproliferation agreements in the U.S. Atomic Energy Act, which are among the world's strongest. Saudi Arabia has long said if it does not partner with the U.S., it could partner with China or Russia which have different proliferation standards.

The energy department said the deal now goes to Congress. Unless Congress raises votes to object to the deal within 90 session days, the deal will go into force. But it would need to have a two-thirds majority to override a presidential veto.

Several Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns that the deal could spark an arms race in the Middle East. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has repeatedly said he does not want the kingdom to build a nuclear weapon but it would if Iran did.

"They are allowing Saudi Arabia, a belligerent and authoritarian nation, to develop nuclear weapons technologies while starting a war with Iran under the guise of preventing an Iranian nuclear bomb," said Senator Edward Markey, a Democrat. "This deal would make us all less safe." REUTERS