Have Israel and the United States reached an agreement on their nuclear program?

If the Israeli-Saudi normalization agreement is to be successful, Israel and America will have to give their consent to the development of a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia.

How is that Wall Street Journal reported on ThursdayIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his country’s top nuclear and security experts to work with American negotiators to reach a compromise that would allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium. Israeli officials “quietly” worked with the White House to develop a “US-operated uranium enrichment mechanism” for a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia, a prerequisite for the kingdom to accept a normalization agreement with Israel.

Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank that opposes the proposal, said: Wall Street JournalIsraeli support represents “a radical change in the policy of a country that has opposed nuclear proliferation in the Middle East from the beginning.”

It has not been approved yet

US President Joe Biden has not yet signed off on the idea of ​​allowing uranium enrichment in Saudi Arabia, officials said magazine, However, the United States is concernedThe Saudis could turn to China instead. The state-owned company is China National Nuclear Power Corporation. It has already applied to build a nuclear power plant in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia near the borders with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The newspaper reported, “Saudi officials acknowledged that discussing the issue with China was an opportunity for the Gulf Kingdom to persuade the Biden administration to reach a compromise on the requirements of nuclear non-proliferation.” Wall Street Journal in August.

Israel and the United States appear willing to accept the risks of Saudi Arabia acquiring nuclear weapons in exchange for normalization which, as the Israeli prime minister said, would represent a “quantum leap” that would radically change Israel’s relations with the rest of the Arab world for the better. He was. During his meeting with the American official, Netanyahu said that he believes “such a peace would make a significant contribution to ending the Arab-Israeli conflict, to reconciliation between the Islamic world and the Jewish state, and to achieving real peace between Israel and the Palestinians.” The President again on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.