The Saudi-US nuclear deal has a back door

The Saudi-US nuclear agreement’s back door: Riyadh could end up enriching uranium to nearly 20% under the civil nuclear agreement it struck with the Trump administration, the Wall Street Journal reports. Under the terms of the agreement, Riyadh and Washington have up to two years to study the project’s economics and put proliferation safeguards in place. If approved, US companies could build a facility to enrich to 5%, with further consultations potentially lifting that to nearly 20%.

IN CONTEXT- The agreement signed last July covers nuclear inspection and monitoring arrangements, but was never meant to include the “gold standard” commitment to forgo uranium enrichment and spent-fuel reprocessing — two key steps to prevent the development of nuclear weapons. Critics say the agreement’s safeguards fall short of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol, which gives inspectors broader authority to verify potentially undeclared nuclear activities.

The politics are far from clean-cut: Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged in 2018 that the Kingdom would pursue a nuclear weapon if Iran got one. And just one day after signing the nuclear agreement, US President Donald Trump bolted on a condition that could unravel the whole thing: The agreement “will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords,” he said on Truth Social, adding there would be “no enrichment.”

Congress also appears to have limited room to intervene. The agreement will take effect after 90 legislative days unless lawmakers pass a joint resolution of disapproval with a majority sufficient to override a presidential veto.