US President Donald Trump has approved a civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia. This agreement may allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium on its land. Unlike previous US nuclear agreements, this agreement does not include the safeguards that the US considers necessary to prevent the nuclear program from being used to make weapons. The Wall Street Journal has given this information quoting officials.

This 30-year agreement will pave the way for American companies to play a key role in building Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear program, while largely keeping foreign competitors out of it. Reuters quoted sources as saying that the Trump administration is planning to present this agreement to Congress in the coming days. This package also includes a document called 123 Agreement, which controls America’s nuclear cooperation with other countries.

According to Reuters report, ‘Gold Standard’ is not included in this agreement. Had this been included, Saudi would have been banned from enriching uranium or reprocessing used nuclear fuel. Both of these are the main ways to obtain the material required to make nuclear weapons.

Additional protocol bypassed
Apart from this, additional protocols have also not been included in it. This is a foolproof security system that gives the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA greater powers, including the ability to conduct surprise inspections of nuclear sites without prior notice. With this agreement, Saudi Arabia may be allowed to enrich uranium in its own country.

danger of making nuclear weapons
Experts have warned that if strict security measures are not taken, this deal could open the way for making nuclear weapons. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has already said that if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, his country will also try to make its own nuclear weapons. Allowing domestic enrichment without internationally recognized safeguards increases the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation.

read this also

US Tariff On Canada: Donald Trump has now imposed 50 percent tariff on Canada, these products are in the list including liquor, dairy