Saudi Arabia kept nuclear weapons option open, according to US intelligence assessment: US media

Months after Saudia Arabia and the US signed a bilateral civil nuclear pact, classified intelligence assessments recently provided to the US Congress conclude that Saudi Arabia has not ruled out developing a nuclear weapons program, The Washington Post reported Friday.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the evaluation forms part of intelligence documents submitted to lawmakers alongside material from the US State Department, which expressed greater confidence in Riyadh's commitments and the agreement's oversight safeguards.

"With this deal, the Trump administration is departing from precedent, adopting looser restrictions, and caving to Saudi demands by agreeing to a process that is all but certain to allow Riyadh to acquire the means to enrich uranium and possibly develop nuclear weapons," a coalition of Democratic lawmakers, led by US Senators Ed Markey and Jeff Merkley, wrote Friday to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a former Republican senator.

The US State Department defended the arrangement, maintaining in a statement to the Post that Washington "does not and will not support a Saudi nuclear weapon program."

Abdulaziz bin Salman, the Saudi energy minister, said earlier that the civilian effort remains "peaceful" and operates under "the highest levels of responsibility and transparency."

Under the bilateral civil nuclear pact signed this July by Abdulaziz and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Washington agreed to supply technology and fuel while granting a conditional pathway to domestic enrichment, limiting levels below 5% before potentially authorizing up to 20% following additional review.

The agreement sits under a 90-session-day congressional review timeline following its August submission, facing a Joint Resolution of Disapproval introduced by House Democrats over non-proliferation concerns.