U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has approved six secret authorizations by companies to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia, according to a copy of a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
The Trump administration has quietly pursued a wider deal on sharing U.S. nuclear power technology with Saudi Arabia, which aims to build at least two nuclear power plants. Several countries including the United States, South Korea and Russia are in competition for that deal, and the winners are expected to be announced later this year by Saudi Arabia.
Perry’s approvals, known as Part 810 authorizations, allow companies to do preliminary work on nuclear power ahead of the deal, but not ship equipment that would go into a plant, a source with knowledge of the agreements said on condition of anonymity. The approvals were first reported by the Daily Beast.
The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said in the document that the companies had requested that the Trump administration keep the approvals secret. “In this case, each of the companies which received a specific authorization for (Saudi Arabia) have provided us written request that their authorization be withheld from public release,” the NNSA said in the document.
The NNSA and the Department of Energy did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
Many U.S. lawmakers are concerned that sharing nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia could eventually lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told CBS last year that the kingdom would develop nuclear weapons if its rival Iran did. In addition, the kingdom has occasionally pushed back against agreeing to U.S. standards that would block two paths to potentially making fissile material for nuclear weapons clandestinely: enriching uranium and reprocessing spent fuel.
Concern in Congress about sharing nuclear technology and knowledge with Saudi Arabia rose after Oct. 2, 2018 when U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The Part 810 authorizations were made after November 2017, but it was not clear from the document whether any of them were made after Khashoggi’s killing.
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Energy Secretary Rick Perry has approved 6 secret authorizations by companies to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters. https://t.co/WYGa5FAhWW pic.twitter.com/jqqY3VuszJ
— CNBC (@CNBC) March 28, 2019
Sure, they chop up journalists. But, let’s see if they can handle nukes responsibly.
— Dameon Wayne T (@realsatanson) March 28, 2019
I want you to take, oh 15 seconds, and imagine the GOP reaction if Obama proposed selling nuclear technology to the Saudis.
I would have led the damn charge.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 28, 2019
And btw, Iran is the big winner in this revelation.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 28, 2019
Didn’t you hear? Netanyahu thinks Trump is just swell. Besties. He said that “Israel has never had a better friend”.
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