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Saudi Arabia's first nuclear reactor nearly finished, sparking fears over safeguards

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Thu 4 Apr 2019

Riyadh has so far resisted international watchdog’s requests to accept a strict inspection regime

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An aerial image of the nuclear reactor site in King Abdulaziz city for science and technology, Saudi Arabia. Photograph: Google Earth

Saudi Arabia is within months of completing its first nuclear reactor, new satellite images show, but it has yet to show any readiness to abide by safeguards that would prevent it making a bomb.

The reactor site is in the King Abdulaziz city for science and technology on the outskirts of Riyadh. The site was identified by Robert Kelley, a former director for nuclear inspections at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who said it was very small 30-kilowatt research reactor, not far from completion.

“I would guess they could have it all done, with the roof in place and the electricity turned on, within a year,” said Kelley, who worked for more than three decades in research and engineering in the US nuclear weapons complex.

The satellite photos show that a 10-metre high steel tubular vessel, which will contain the nuclear fuel, has been erected, and construction work is under way on the surrounding concrete building.

Kelley said the main practical purpose of the research reactor would be to train nuclear technicians, but it also marked the crossing of a nuclear threshold. Before inserting nuclear fuel into the reactor, Saudi Arabia would have to implement a comprehensive set of rules and procedures, including IAEA inspections, designed to ensure no fissile material was diverted for use in weapons – something it has so far avoided.

The reactor has been designed by an Argentinian state-owned company, Invap SE.

“This reactor should be operational by the end of the year roughly,” Rafael Mariano Grossi, Argentina’s envoy to the IAEA, confirmed. “It depends on a number of factors. Invap is in charge of design. They are directing all the operations. But the local engineering is being done by the Saudis.”

The emergence of the satellite images, first published by Bloomberg, comes in the midst of a struggle between the Trump White House and Congress over the sale of nuclear technology to Riyadh, after it emerged that the US department of energy had granted seven permits for the transfer of sensitive nuclear information by US businesses to the Saudi government.

The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and the energy secretary, Rick Perry, have both stonewalled congressional committees demanding to know what the authorisations were for, and which companies were involved.

On Tuesday, the head of the independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Kristine Svinicki, and her fellow commissioners remained silent when repeatedly asked by Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen, whether the commission had been consulted on the nuclear permits.

Tempers flared last week in a confrontation between Pompeo and the Democrat-run House foreign affairs committee, when legislators demanded to know why the administration appeared to be shielding a Saudi regime responsible for wholesale human rights abuses, mass civilian deaths in Yemen and the murder and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi.

Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, told Pompeo: “If you cannot trust a regime with a bone saw, you should not them with nuclear weapons.”

Sherman said the issuance of the seven permits, known as Part 810 authorisations, represented an effort by Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to bypass Congress, and spare the Saudi monarchy the need to accept a formal agreement that would put strict limits on its nuclear programme.

“It tells the country that if Jared and Donald Trump can transfer nuclear technology to the Saudis on seven occasions and not reveal the details to members of Congress with the highest national security clearance, even in special classified rooms – what are they hiding?” Sherman said in a telephone interview.

He said there was a bipartisan majority in Congress that would insist Saudi Arabia could buy US nuclear technology only if it agreed to the “gold standard”: no enrichment of uranium and no reprocessing of plutonium, and the acceptance of intrusive IAEA inspections.

But Sherman was less sure Congress could overcome a presidential veto. “The cards are stacked against us,” he said. “We would need a two-thirds vote and the country has gotten so partisan, Congress is no longer independent.”

A report in February by the House oversight committee cited evidence from whistleblowers that senior White House political appointees, had repeatedly pushed for a quick deal to sell nuclear reactors to Saudi Arabia, without non-proliferation safeguards.

According to the report, the campaign was led initially by Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who had close ties to one of the companies pushing the scheme, IP3 International, but it was pursued after Flynn was fired, by Kushner, Perry and a Trump friend, Tom Barrack.

Saudi Arabia joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1988 but signed a comprehensive safeguards agreement with the IAEA only in 2005, and at the same time exempted itself from regular inspections, by signing a “small quantities protocol” (SQP), designed for countries with negligible quantities of nuclear material.

Largely because of controversy over Riyadh being shielded from scrutiny under these rules, the IAEA made the SQP more rigorous, but the Saudis resisted making changes.

“Saudi Arabia was the last country allowed to sign the old SQP. And they never agreed to adjust or rescind it,” said Laura Rockwood, a former senior official in the IAEA’s legal affairs office, now head of the Vienna Centre for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.

Thomas Countryman, who was assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation in the Obama administration, said his negotiations with Saudi officials stalled over their resistance to accepting prohibitions on enrichment or reprocessing, as well as a strict IAEA inspections protocol.

“I believe the Saudis saw an opportunity with Trump and Kushner to conclude this rapidly on their terms, holding out the promise of major purchases,” Countryman, now board chairman of the Arms Control Association, said.

He thought it unlikely the seven export permits issued by the administration would be any help to Saudi Arabia in developing nuclear weapons, but he questioned the lack of transparency involved.

“The unusual level of secrecy surrounding these approvals will only add to Congress’s suspicion of the intentions of both the administration and of Saudi Arabia,” Countryman said. “If there is a deal to be made for US reactor sales to Saudi Arabia, it can only be achieved, and supported by Congress, through transparency and not through secrecy.”


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...early-finished-sparking-fears-over-safeguards
 
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KACST inaugurates its first nuclear research reactor

November 22, 2018



KACST inaugurates its first nuclear research reactor



Saudi Arabia has inaugurated a low-energy nuclear research reactor project amongst seven other strategic projects in the field of new and renewable energies.

The technical specifications of the research reactor were completed by the ¨“King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology” (KACST), with the participation of international expertise. That included reactor core design, Nuclear fuel, control systems, quality control and nuclear safety analysis report. The research reactor contains fuel from uranium oxide enriched by 2.1%, and a capacity of up to 100 kW.

The construction work of the KACTS project has begun, the nuclear reactor vessel and the nuclear fuel manufacturing have been completed. The project is expected to be fulfilled by the end of 2019.

Through the establishment of KACTS the first nuclear research reactor, Saudi Arabia is counting on the contribution of this multi-purpose nuclear project to the development of human resources. KACTS reactor will foster research capabilities associated with nuclear science and engineering and participate to the development of the domestic nuclear industry.


https://nbn.business/kacst-inaugurates-its-first-nuclear-research-reactor/

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KACST inaugurates its first nuclear research reactor

November 22, 2018



KACST inaugurates its first nuclear research reactor



Saudi Arabia has inaugurated a low-energy nuclear research reactor project amongst seven other strategic projects in the field of new and renewable energies.

The technical specifications of the research reactor were completed by the ¨“King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology” (KACST), with the participation of international expertise. That included reactor core design, Nuclear fuel, control systems, quality control and nuclear safety analysis report. The research reactor contains fuel from uranium oxide enriched by 2.1%, and a capacity of up to 100 kW.

The construction work of the KACTS project has begun, the nuclear reactor vessel and the nuclear fuel manufacturing have been completed. The project is expected to be fulfilled by the end of 2019.

Through the establishment of KACTS the first nuclear research reactor, Saudi Arabia is counting on the contribution of this multi-purpose nuclear project to the development of human resources. KACTS reactor will foster research capabilities associated with nuclear science and engineering and participate to the development of the domestic nuclear industry.


https://nbn.business/kacst-inaugurates-its-first-nuclear-research-reactor/

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This is a 2018 article.

What's the latest? Is it under the IAEA watchdog? Has Saudi Arabia signed the NPT?
 
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Imagine a deal where Israel gives some nuclear technology to arabs and in turn arabs accept Israeli existence legally.
Arabs are already running a rocket program.
This will be win win for both the arabs and Israelis.

Now i don't want my dear Pakistanis brothers to start at me so i will request them plz look at this with the lens of country's interest.Afterall ,arabs and iranians cannot do shit about nuclear Israel.
 
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This is a 2018 article.

What's the latest? Is it under the IAEA watchdog? Has Saudi Arabia signed the NPT?
KSA signed the NPT in 1988.. and the small quantities protocol in 2015..

Now it was question of the reactor's nuclear fuel..but nothing was heard of that yet..
 
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KSA signed the NPT in 1988.. and the small quantities protocol in 2015..

Now it was question of the reactor's nuclear fuel..but nothing was heard of that yet..

NPT only means an undertaking not to weaponize nuclear fuel. If they are a signatory, and that too US allies, they will easily get the nuclear fuel from either Canada, Australia or any other 44 members of the NSG.

The question is, what are the safety measures they have in place in terms of personnel & assets.
 
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NPT only means an undertaking not to weaponize nuclear fuel. If they are a signatory, and that too US allies, they will easily get the nuclear fuel from either Canada, Australia or any other 44 members of the NSG.

The question is, what are the safety measures they have in place in terms of personnel & assets.
KSA has the best safety measures and practices implemented..

The issue is with the IAEA inspections,,

"The sides are also discussing an extra agreement known as the Additional Protocol that provides for tougher checks including snap inspections at undeclared locations, Grossi said."

https://www.reuters.com/article/saudi-nuclear-iaea-int-idUSKBN2652OQ


"The head of the UN nuclear watchdog organisation said Saudi Arabia would have to agree to a programme of inspections and other safeguards before importing nuclear fuel for a research reactor nearing completion in Riyadh.

Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said, however, that Riyadh had not yet given a clear answer on its intentions.

“They didn’t say no. They didn’t say yes, and they are now giving it thought,” Amano told journalists on Friday. “This is where we stand now.”"

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...i-arabia-must-agree-to-inspections-iaea-chief
 
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Saudi Arabia should be pursuing nuclear weapons. It has the money, adequate know-how by now (or very soon at least), uranium availability within Saudi Arabia itself, domestic ballistic missile technology and all the geopolitical reasons to do so with a nuclear-armed neighbor (Israel) already and an aspiring one in Iran.

Saudi Arabia being the biggest Arab economy should lead the way here and if necessary limit itself to eating dates and drinking camel milk as King Faisal wisely once said. By the way both are very healthy foods.

If there were nuclear armed Arab states we would not have seen all the Western-led wars and Western-fueled conflicts. Gaddafi and Saddam were both too naive in this regard.

I find it a travesty that one of the biggest and most influential imperial powers in history (Arabs) have no nuclear weapons in 2022...

Imagine a deal where Israel gives some nuclear technology to arabs and in turn arabs accept Israeli existence legally.
Arabs are already running a rocket program.
This will be win win for both the arabs and Israelis.

Now i don't want my dear Pakistanis brothers to start at me so i will request them plz look at this with the lens of country's interest.Afterall ,arabs and iranians cannot do shit about nuclear Israel.

Why would Arabs look towards Israel when they have already/are/can look towards China, Russia, France, South Korea, USA and others?
 
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Imagine a deal where Israel gives some nuclear technology to arabs and in turn arabs accept Israeli existence legally.
Arabs are already running a rocket program.
This will be win win for both the arabs and Israelis.

Now i don't want my dear Pakistanis brothers to start at me so i will request them plz look at this with the lens of country's interest.Afterall ,arabs and iranians cannot do shit about nuclear Israel.
you dont need nuclear weapons to destroy israel. Even then Egypt and Arabs have programs that no one knows anything about. And what is this logic buy israeli nukes to face nuclear israel??
 
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Imagine a deal where Israel gives some nuclear technology to arabs and in turn arabs accept Israeli existence legally.
Arabs are already running a rocket program.
This will be win win for both the arabs and Israelis.

Now i don't want my dear Pakistanis brothers to start at me so i will request them plz look at this with the lens of country's interest.Afterall ,arabs and iranians cannot do shit about nuclear Israel.

on the outside yes they cant do shit but on the inside they all in it together.
 
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you dont need nuclear weapons to destroy israel. Even then Egypt and Arabs have programs that no one knows anything about. And what is this logic buy israeli nukes to face nuclear israel??

:lol:

Arabs should definitely have had nukes ages ago when tiny Israel have them. In fact it is absolutely crazy that the second largest ethnic group in the world after the Han Chinese have no nukes considering the impressive imperial past of the Arabs and immense religious, cultural, linguistic etc. influence. Add the huge geography, resources, economy (The GCC alone is a 2 + trillion USD economy if I am not wrong), 20 + countries and it is really criminal that Arabs have no nukes. Not even 1 single Arab country. Not to mention the most important argument which is constant meddling in Arab countries from outsiders with the most destructive examples being US-led wars.

There is a reason why nobody dares to attack nuclear-armed states directly and why there has never been a total war between two nuclear armed states.

I look at a country like Saudi Arabia and I cannot think of one single reason why they should not go after acquiring nukes.
 
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:lol:

Arabs should definitely have had nukes ages ago when tiny Israel have them. In fact it is absolutely crazy that the second largest ethnic group in the world after the Han Chinese have no nukes considering the impressive imperial past of the Arabs and immense religious, cultural, linguistic etc. influence. Add the huge geography, resources, economy (The GCC alone is a 2 + trillion USD economy if I am not wrong), 20 + countries and it is really criminal that Arabs have no nukes. Not even 1 single Arab country. Not to mention the most important argument which is constant meddling in Arab countries from outsiders with the most destructive examples being US-led wars.

There is a reason why nobody dares to attack nuclear-armed states directly and why there has never been a total war between two nuclear armed states.

I look at a country like Saudi Arabia and I cannot think of one single reason why they should not go after acquiring nukes.
not everything is published. Even the published ones a MOAB can genuinly cripple israel due to its density
 
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not everything is published. Even the published ones a MOAB can genuinly cripple israel due to its density

How does that post counter what I wrote exactly? Do Arabs need nukes to protect themsleves and their interests? The short answer is yes. Take Pakistan as an example, where would we be without nukes? We would have a similar fate as Iraq or Libya, maybe even worse.

As long as you guys don't have nukes, you will always be at the mercy of tiny Israel let alone the West. Whenever you want to truly become independent and it clashes with the same West, they will try to ruin you. As an Egyptian you should have learned that by now already.

I am not a fan of the Mullah's in Iran but I applaud them for trying to pursue nuclear weapons and thus their independence and deterrence from outside attacks.

All with the blessings of Israel.

I don't think that Israel has any say. If anything it is the daddy of Israel (USA) that has a say here as the self-proclaimed policeman of the world. However they could not prevent the growing Saudi Arabian-Chinese ties. Talking about the enormous trade volume, Saudi Arabian ballistic missile program where China plays a key role, extraction of Saudi Arabian uranium with Chinese cooperation/help, drone tech sharing and many other areas of cooperation. The US/West is getting weaker and weaker they cannot afford to control everything in their favor.

Look at Biden. He promised to make Saudi Arabia a pariah but now he is forced to go there and beg. Meanwhile Lavrov is visiting KSA and KSA never condemned Russia or sanctioned it. If/when USA/West turns hostile to KSA, they will move towards China/Russia fully and it will be the loss of the West.
 
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