US reportedly plans civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia

Media reports say the United States plans to announce on 22 July an agreement with Saudi Arabia intended to help establish a civilian nuclear programme in the kingdom.

The New York Times reported, citing two unnamed US officials, that President Donald Trump's administration planned to formally sign and announce the deal with Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. The Trump administration said the agreement would provide billions of dollars for the US nuclear industry.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a provision in the 30-year agreement could potentially allow American companies to build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia.

Some US lawmakers from both parties and Israeli officials have opposed a civilian nuclear project for Saudi Arabia, citing concern that such a programme could eventually be used to develop nuclear weapons.

The agreement is expected to be sent to Congress in the coming days, but congressional approval is not required for it to proceed. Saudi Arabia has long said it has the right to pursue a civilian nuclear programme.

Washington has in recent years sought to include any nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia within a wider strategic arrangement that could include Saudi normalisation of relations with Israel and a US defence pact.

The United States signed a nuclear agreement with the United Arab Emirates in 2009. The UAE does not enrich its own uranium. In May, a drone struck a generator near the UAE's Barakah nuclear plant, causing a fire.

The reported plan comes during renewed fighting between the United States and Iran, in a war that began in part over US concerns about Iran's nuclear programme. Iran's Yemeni allies, the Houthi rebels, threatened this week to expand the war by blockading Saudi ports, raising concern about possible disruption to crude supplies. Last week, Saudi Arabia and the Houthis traded fire, putting pressure on a 2022 truce, though the rebels have largely stayed on the sidelines since the wider Middle East war began in late February.