SerpApi.Org
The Trump administration is expected to announce a 30-year nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could open the door for the country to enrich uranium for its civilian nuclear program, U.S. officials told several media outlets.
The deal, which may be announced as early as Wednesday, is worth tens of billions and will give U.S. companies a central role in developing Saudi Arabia's nuclear infrastructure.
It could allow for the construction of a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia following a joint U.S.-Saudi study.
The deal is not expected to include the International Atomic Energy Agency's Additional Protocol, which gives the agency authority to inspect and verify that a country's nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's energy minister, reached a preliminary agreement for civil nuclear cooperation last year.
"Together, with bilateral safeguard agreements, we want to grow our partnership, bring American nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia and keep a firm commitment to nonproliferation," Wright said at the time.
Saudi Arabia also signed a mutual defense pact with Pakistan last year, under which any aggression against either country would be considered an attack on both. This was the first such deal between an Arab Gulf state and a nuclear-armed partner.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
