Overview
- The administration transmitted the 30-year Section 123 civil nuclear cooperation agreement to Congress on Monday, starting the mandatory 90-session-day review that allows the pact to take effect unless lawmakers pass a joint resolution of disapproval.
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz signed the agreement on July 22, and U.S. officials say the deal would let American firms supply civilian nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, including AP1000 reactors that would benefit Westinghouse.
- The pact includes a U.S.-linked mechanism that could lead to uranium enrichment in Saudi Arabia after a multiyear feasibility study, a pathway Wright has acknowledged and that nonproliferation experts and some lawmakers warn could weaken safeguards.
- Parts of the text were sent to Congress classified at an unusually high level, and critics say the agreement does not lock in the UAE-style ‘gold standard’ ban on enrichment or reprocessing or require the IAEA’s Additional Protocol for tougher inspections.
- What to watch next: whether Saudi-Israel normalization happens, how congressional committees and the IAEA respond to the classified terms, and whether U.S. officials will press side agreements or verification measures that reduce proliferation and commercial risks.