Report: Saudi Arabia has not ruled out nuclear weapons program, US intelligence assesses
Trump’s civilian nuclear deal with Riyadh faces scrutiny over safeguards and remains conditional on normalization with Israel
US intelligence assessed that Saudi Arabia had not ruled out developing a nuclear weapons program, The Washington Post reported, citing US officials familiar with classified documents submitted to Congress.
The assessment deepened concerns among some US lawmakers over President Donald Trump’s agreement to help the kingdom establish a civilian nuclear program. They feared the deal could enable weapons development and trigger a regional arms race.
Trump’s requirement that Riyadh normalize relations with Israel remained a firm condition for the agreement, a senior administration official told the newspaper. Analysts said the kingdom was unlikely to agree while Israel’s government continued to rule out a Palestinian state.
The nuclear deal would initially cap Saudi uranium enrichment at below 5 percent but allow an increase to 20 percent following an additional study and written agreement, according to the report.
It did not require Saudi Arabia to adopt the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol, which provides for broader inspections. Nonproliferation experts warned that this would hamper efforts to detect weapons development at undeclared facilities.
Democratic senators led by Ed Markey and Jeff Merkley criticized the agreement’s safeguards in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Some Democratic lawmakers sought to block the deal during a 90-day congressional review period, though overriding a presidential veto would require two-thirds support.
The State Department defended the agreement and said Washington would not support a Saudi nuclear weapons program. The Saudi government referred the newspaper to an earlier statement by its energy minister describing the planned program as peaceful.