Experts Warn U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Deal Could Spur 1 More Arms Program as Rubio Defends Safeguards
Updated
Updated · Democracy Now! · Jul 23
Experts Warn U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Deal Could Spur 1 More Arms Program as Rubio Defends Safeguards
3 articles · Updated · Democracy Now! · Jul 23
Summary
Nonproliferation experts said the U.S. plan to build Saudi Arabia a civilian nuclear program could give Riyadh a pathway toward nuclear weapons.
Marco Rubio, speaking at the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines, defended the agreement and said U.S. technology and safeguards would keep the program from being turned into a weapons effort.
Tens of billions of dollars are at stake for U.S. nuclear companies including Westinghouse, whose reactors produce plutonium that experts say could be reprocessed for warheads.
James Acton of the Carnegie Endowment said that, if the reported terms are accurate, the deal would amount to the United States giving up on nonproliferation.
The agreement is already drawing regional backlash, with Israel criticizing the deal as another sign of widening security-policy differences with the Trump administration.