The United States on Wednesday announced a historic agreement with Saudi Arabia that will establish a civilian nuclear program in the Gulf state, with Washington insisting that the deal includes safeguards against non-proliferation.
The move comes as the United States under President Donald Trump is waging a war with Iran that began in large part over concerns over Tehran’s nuclear program — an issue that remains a major point of contention during now-stalled peace talks.
Two agreements – one on “peaceful nuclear cooperation” and the other on “bilateral defense” – were signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the US Department of Energy said.
A copy of the agreements was not immediately made public.
“Together, these two agreements lay the legal foundation for a multi-decade, multibillion-dollar partnership that promotes several priority economic and strategic goals, including nuclear nonproliferation,” the department said in a statement.
A clause in the deal could see US companies build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Energy Department statement did not mention such a provision and did not comment when asked about it by Agence France-Presse.
