U.S.-Saudi 123 Deal Aims to Secure Nuclear Safety and Block Rival Influence

The United States is finalizing a 123 Agreement with Saudi Arabia to enable peaceful nuclear trade under strict U.S. safety and non-proliferation controls, seeking to keep Russian and Chinese partners out of the kingdom’s first reactors.

Projected to see a 27% rise in electricity demand by 2030, Saudi Arabia intends to build commercial nuclear reactors even though it has never operated one and lacks the industrial base and regulatory framework to do so. Its viable partners are limited to nations with advanced nuclear capabilities, chiefly Russia and China, whose involvement could dictate the safety culture and operational norms of Saudi plants. To counter this, the United States is pushing a 123 Agreement that would permit peaceful nuclear trade under U.S.-defined safety standards and require prior U.S. consent for any enrichment or reprocessing of nuclear material.

Although some analysts claim the deal does not meet the “gold standard” set by the 2009 UAE agreement, the text still obliges Saudi Arabia to use U.S.-supplied material solely for civilian purposes and subjects the program to rigorous inspections. The agreement, not yet public, is presented as a way to keep American influence over Saudi nuclear expansion and deter the kingdom from turning to Russian or Chinese suppliers.