US-Saudi nuclear deal invites proliferation risks … unless safeguards are written in

Per The Conversation, a landmark U-S nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia announced last week has nonproliferation experts concerned about a critical gap: whether it actually prohibits uranium enrichment. President Trump has stated the deal includes a 'no enrichment' requirement and demands that Saudi Arabia normalize relations with Israel first, but it remains unclear whether these conditions are formally part of the signed agreement. Unlike a twenty oh-nine nuclear pact with the U-A-E that prohibited both enrichment and reprocessing, this new Saudi accord leaves room for doubt. The concern is significant: allowing enrichment would give Saudi Arabia the technical know-how to produce weapons-grade uranium. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince has publicly stated the kingdom would pursue nuclear weapons if Iran did. The U-S is considering a 'black box' enrichment facility — where America builds and operates the sensitive equipment while Saudi Arabia gains only operational knowledge — but experts remain skeptical such an arrangement could be sustained indefinitely.

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