The hypocrisy is stunning. 
The Saudi Path to Enriching Uranium
The Washington Post reports U.S. signs nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that gives it path to enriching fuel.
The Trump administration on Wednesday signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia that gives that country a pathway to enriching nuclear fuel and commits it to using U.S. firms to supply its reactors.
The agreement, which the Energy Department announced had been signed, is certain to spark heated debate in Congress, where many lawmakers have long expressed concern that exporting enrichment capabilities will lead to a proliferation of nuclear arms.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has spoken openly about working to develop nuclear weapons if Iran is not stopped from getting them.
While the Trump administration offered little information about the agreement’s contents, three people familiar with it shared details with The Washington Post. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the agreement publicly.
The people familiar with the new agreement say it is designed with safeguards to keep the Saudis from enriching nuclear fuel to weapons-grade level. But they also acknowledge it includes a waiver that exempts the Saudis from the aggressive international inspections required in nuclear reactor deals with other countries, including the United Arab Emirates.
Instead, sensitive inspections would be executed by American teams under terms spelled out in the agreement, which was initially worked out when the crown prince visited Washington in November.
Because the deal does not include conventional international inspections, President Donald Trump had to sign a separate national security waiver for it to go forward, according to the individuals familiar with it.
The agreement is sparking alarm in Israel, where officials have long sought to keep neighboring nations from enriching nuclear fuel. Unlike the Biden administration’s proposed nuclear energy pact with Saudi Arabia, which U.S. officials had predicated on the Persian Gulf state recognizing Israel’s right to exist, there is no such stipulation in the arrangement Trump negotiated.
Bennett, who is challenging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming elections, called the deal “a severe strategic failure that jeopardizes our security” by threatening to trigger a regional “nuclear arms race and a dangerous loss of control.”
Israel Ziv, a former head of the Israel Defense Forces Operations Division, wrote in the daily newspaper Maariv that the agreement “is the final diplomatic nail in the coffin for the future of regional normalization.”
Even analysts who concede that the expansion of enrichment to Saudi Arabia and other countries is inevitable — as countries pursue nuclear power amid fast-rising global energy demand — question the structure of the agreement.
Richard Nephew, who advised Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama on the Middle East, said in an interview that the sidelining of international inspectors would set a worrisome precedent. He said that while U.S. inspectors are capable of robust review of nuclear activities, adversaries of the U.S. are unlikely to trust their findings and may choose to abandon inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“The point is not that Americans can’t do a great job at inspections,” he said. “The point is if you were Iran, how much confidence would you have in American inspections of Saudi operations? How would we feel if the Iranians said, ‘Don’t worry. Russians will inspect us.’ We would not accept that.”
Members of Congress are already criticizing the framework. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-California) noted during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday that Iran’s nuclear program, which the White House says it is now being leveraged by Iranian leaders to build a weapon, is rooted in U.S. technology given to that country when it was still run by the shah.
“We have no idea who is going to be running Saudi Arabia 10 years from now,” Sherman said. “We are bombing Iran because they insist upon enriching and reprocessing. We are entering into an agreement with Saudi Arabia, giving them the green light to reprocess and to enrich, and the only difference I see here is that Westinghouse stands to make an awful lot of money on this deal, whereas the Iranians were not enriching American companies.”
Congressional Review
Should Congress Block This?
The question is moot because this is a done deal. It takes two-thirds majority to block it.
Trump call this a victory for non-proliferation.
If anything, it will increase Iran’s desire for a nuclear weapon.
@mish your comment platform won’t evenlet me mention … Here is another attempt: James Corbett’s website
Isome combination of that and 10/7 — it did not like. Let’s see if this goes through separately.
Give Trump credit for being creative at escalating the stupidity of his actions.
Typical Trump – throw a turd into the toiletbowl after screwing up royally. He’s trying to save his cronies’ massive financial interests, but being so incompetent he’s once again made everything worse. He’s such an ass
I understand the importance of regional balance of power but this is not the way to do it. The implications are: Iran is not going to give up its nukes, Trump won’t take nukes away from Iran, and there will be no regime change.
Instead of a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia to effectively protect oil supplies, the US should simply build nuclear reactors domestically and sever oil trade ties with the Middle East. There must be something more complex such as other major countries filling the US void that keeps the US from creating one in the first place.
Israel has nuclear weapons obtained clandestinely and has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Given their constant aggression against their neighbors, ongoing genocide operations and manipulation of our government? I’d say the real threat is rather obvious…
Oh, look out world, because NOW Iran REALLY wants a nuke. Now they, really, really seriously want a nuke since SA has an enrichment deal.
You see, they weren’t that interested over the last several decades having spent billions pursuing nuclear capability and threatening to eliminate entire countries once they had the capability. But now that SA is permitted, a long time regional ally of the US who has never publicly announced their intention to eliminate anyone, Iran NOW is motivated.
Another ridiculous article. with Mish selecting sources and passages to support an opinion that was formed prior to anything actually happening.
No one is claiming Saudi enrichment suddenly created Iran’s nuclear ambitions; the point is that Washington destroys its own non-proliferation case by treating enrichment as intolerable in Iran but acceptable in Saudi Arabia.
And portraying Riyadh as some uniquely trustworthy ally is absurd:
Saudi Arabia may be useful to the US, but “useful” is not the same as moderate, reliable or deserving of a nuclear exception.
Another Iran-a-phobe who ignores all the evidence confirming Iran abandoned its nuclear ambitions decades ago. But, sure, all our enemies are uniquely evil and irrational and deceitful. We, the US, just want peace and puppies and sunflowers.
Makes a total mockery of the US as a force for good.
To be a regional power going forward, the Saudis have decided that nuclear is a key table stake.
So bunging the Trump family a billion to enable it is cheap.
The timing is so staggeringly bad that you have to wonder if he thought that he would just squeeze in a last one before he gets a less willing Congress in January.
Difficult to see how this reduces tensions and so avoids more American lives lost.
Buddy, that ship has sailed a very long time ago.
Anyone remember Osama bin Laden?
A Saudi national recruited, trained and financed by USA to combat Communism.
15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi nationals.
Now the U.S. is helping Saudi Arabia develop a nuclear bomb… “for peaceful purposes.” 😉
History has a remarkable sense of irony.
Wahhabi Islam with nuclear weapons. What could go wrong.
But those are our Jihadis.
That was a different administration! D’oh.
This is the problem so many have. They think the US is like Russia with one President in power for life.
This is likely going to kill a nuclear deal with Iran. But it doesn’t mean that Iran will immediately start building a nuclear weapon. It will just keep all options on the table.
If nuclear deal with Iran is out of reach what remains? Open ended low intensity/many truces war. Mowing the lawn as Israel likes to say.
Who comes next after Saudi Arabia? UAE?
Is Saudi nuclear deal the price Trump has to pay if the US wants to stay in Persian Gulf?
Will Israel be happy if Saudies start playing with enrinched uranium? I doubt it.
If I were the Saudis I would keep in mind promising and delivering are two different things. If he wanted to insure Iran goes nuclear fast he just gave em another great reason.
Israel is gonna be pissing blood. I guess Trump did not get the message when Bibi gave him the golden pager
With Pakistan not coming to the aid of Saudi Arabia even though they have a defense agreement, any nuclear shield they agreed to becomes circumspect. Thus, the kingdom needs its own enrichment to counter Iran’s.
Just as soon as Saudi Arabia gets the bomb, the dictatorship of royals gets overthrown by committed Sunni’s. Sunnis are more into suicide bombing than Shia (to wit, Iran).
I listened to reporting on this today but so far, have not been able to learn WHY the Saudis want to do enrichment of uranium. Why do they want to do this? Has a limit on the percentage of enrichment or the amount of uranium that they can enrich been put in place?
SA can’t seriously want to build a nuclear weapon! Nothing good can come of this. It doesn’t give any real protection to have just a few nukes and it attracts attention that most countries don’t want or need.
Lack of IAEA inspections is another serious problem.
Maybe this is some kind of “we’re big dicks also” to Pakistan and Iran?
Of course, with Trump, there is always the question about what is in this for him. Qatar gave him a $300 million jet. What is SA offering?
More info needed!
It’s all about selling US Nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. American reactors require enriched fuel (3-5% up to 19%). Canadian reactors on the other hand do not require enriched fuel (0.7%) to operate.
So to sell US technology the US must sign off on Saudi Arabia enriching fuel even though that enrichment process could lead to them getting material for a bomb.
US Nuclear tech has always been about making bombs, the peaceful side of energy is just a useful side affect. Canadian tech on the other hand has always been about energy only.
Only Canadian tech should be sold to these types of countries.
That’s more information that I heard on at least 3 different news channels Wednesday!
Thankfully, fusion throws all this out the window. Just a few years away from the first commercial plant now!
How will all these wannbe minor countries justify obtaining enriched uranium then?
Fusion has been a few years away for decades now 😂
Taco is expecting more very expensive gifts from the Saudis as he doesn’t do anything unless he receives valuable compensation in exchange.
Iran just needs to up their bribe.
How much did the Saudis give Trump??
They told him how awesome he is, and how much they all admire him.
I am sure they sucked on his Taco….lol
As a member of the NPT, Saudi Arabia has the right to enrich uranium and must allow inspections by IAEA.
As a member of the NPT, so does Iran.
Yet they refused. Laws/rules w/o enforcement capability are meaningless.
Iran had allowed inspectors until the US reneged on its deal in 2018. Israel, on the other hand, stole the technology and nuclear material from its largest benefactor (the US), and refuses inspections and NPT obligations to this day. Today, our ambassador meets with the Israel spy that duped us. Are you American Jojo?
Take care of the beam in your own eye before criticizing the splinter in the other’s eye.