Fuel for thought

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

NICK EICHER, HOST: It’s Tuesday July 28th.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

First up, a nuclear deal in the Middle East.

The Trump Administration last week announced steps for a nuclear partnership with Saudi Arabia. Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

WRIGHT: President Trump's agenda in the Middle East has been commerce, not conflict. Saudi Arabia has been an ally of the United States since the nation's forming, and I'm thrilled in our efforts and where this is going.

A new nuclear energy agreement could open the door for U.S. companies to help Saudi Arabia build civilian nuclear reactors. Under U.S. law that kind of partnership requires a formal deal that spells out safeguards and limits. These are known as “1-2-3 agreements”—named for the section of the Atomic Energy Act that authorizes them.

EICHER: Supporters say the Saudi agreement strengthens an important Middle East partnership and keeps America in the game as China and Russia compete for influence. Critics say any nuclear cooperation with the Saudis requires careful oversight. The new Saudi 1-2-3 agreement comes after years of negotiations. Henry Sokolski is Executive Director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center. He says the Biden administration tried but failed to get a similar deal.

SOKOLSKI: They wanted the quid pro quo of Saudi Arabia recognizing Israel. When they didn't get that because of the massacre that occurred October 7, they just backed off.

REICHARD: Talks restarted after an executive order last year, requiring the Energy Department to export American nuclear technology to at least 20 countries by 2029.

Last week’s deal would allow American companies to sell American-made reactors and fuel assemblies to the Saudis. But the agreement also introduces the possibility the country could make its own nuclear fuel down the road.

Sokolski says the arrangement raises questions about Saudi Arabia’s goals.

SOKOLSKI: They're sitting on the world's some of the world's largest reserves of natural gas, a fair amount of oil, a whole heck of a lot of solar and a fair amount of wind. This this is not a country without alternatives that actually, when you do the economic analyses, and my center has, they’re cheaper.

EICHER: But U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told CBS on Sunday the deal is about giving Saudi Arabia civilian nuclear power, not a path to nuclear weapons. He also noted the U.S. has worked similarly with other Gulf States.

WALTZ: Just like we have with the United Arab Emirates, the 123 agreement that we've had for for over a decade. There is no enrichment technology being provided to the Saudis. That will be done here in the United States, it’s some of our most sensitive technology.

REICHARD: The UAE committed not to enrich nuclear material. But Sokolski says that could change if the U.S. sweetens the Saudi deal to allow future enrichment.

SOKOLSKI: There is a proviso that says if we give a more generous set of terms to any of UAE neighbors, and surely that's Saudi Arabia. They, the UAE, gets to renegotiate or reopen negotiations for the terms of the deal.

He says that could incentivize other Middle East nations, like Egypt and Turkey, to increase their nuclear efforts as well.

SOKOLSKI: It could be a rather crowded nuclear edgy neighborhood.

EICHER: But the Saudi deal now faces another hurdle. Shortly after announcing the deal, President Trump said the Saudis need to join the Abraham Accords with Israel. The Saudis have long insisted on the creation of a Palestinian state before they will recognize Israel. Joining the Accords is not part of the current agreement, and Sokolski worries it may be too late.

SOKOLSKI: Once you have the deal, I think amending it is not really in the cards. You have to come up with a separate agreement of some sort.

The earliest the deal could go into effect once the president gives official notice to Congress is December.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.