U.S. Revives Talks With Saudi Arabia on Transfer of Nuclear Technology

The Trump administration has revived talks with Saudi officials over a deal that would give Saudi Arabia access to U.S. nuclear technology and potentially allow it to enrich uranium, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Sunday.

The deal — which the Biden administration had pursued as part of a broader agreement for Saudi Arabia to establish ties with Israel — would enable the kingdom to develop a “commercial nuclear power industry,” Mr. Wright told journalists in Riyadh. He added that he expected to see “meaningful developments” this year.

“We’ve not reached the details on an agreement, but it certainly looks like there is a pathway to do that,” he said. “The issue is control of sensitive technology. Are there solutions to that that involve enrichment here in Saudi Arabia? Yes.”

Asked whether the talks were tied to Saudi Arabia’s agreeing to “normalize” diplomatic relations with Israel, Mr. Wright said only that “relationships are always package deals" and that there were many potential areas of cooperation between the two countries.

For years, Saudi Arabia has pressed the United States to help it develop a nuclear energy program, as Saudi officials look beyond oil to provide energy and diversify the economy. But talks on a nuclear partnership stalled, partly because the Saudi government refused to agree to conditions intended to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons or helping other nations do so.

A crucial sticking point, for example, has been whether the kingdom would import uranium or enrich it domestically, which could theoretically enable it to produce uranium for use in nuclear weapons.