Former consul warns US-Saudi nuclear deal may lead to arms race, Trump caught in 'escalation trap'

Former Israeli consul Yaki Dayan has voiced strong concerns that the US-Saudi Arabia civilian nuclear agreement could ignite a regional arms race. Dayan believes President Donald Trump is caught in an "escalation trap" regarding Iran, with no clear exit strategy.

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This has been in the works for quite a few months.

During an interview with 103FM, Dayan explained that the deal, which has been in development for months, appears driven by Trump's desire to close as many deals as possible for financial gain. He suggested the agreement likely does not include normalization with Israel, as that information would have already been public. The deal is expected to be submitted for approval soon.

Dayan highlighted a key difference between the Saudi deal and the 2009 agreement with the United Arab Emirates. While the UAE cannot independently enrich uranium, the Saudi agreement reportedly grants them a two-year trial period. After this, the US may permit Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium on its own territory. If not, a ten-year veto period exists, after which the Saudis can revisit the issue.

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Trump wants to close as many deals as possible for as much money as possible.

"Trump is getting tens of billions of dollars in return for this deal," Dayan stated, emphasizing the business aspect for American companies. He pointed out that even if Congress rejects the agreement, the president can veto the rejection, requiring a two-thirds majority in Congress to override, a threshold he deems unlikely given current political divisions.

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The difference between the agreement signed with the United Arab Emirates in 2009 and this one is that the Emirates cannot carry out uranium enrichment independently.

Dayan warned that granting Saudi Arabia independent enrichment capabilities could prompt Turkey and Egypt to seek similar arrangements. He also analyzed the situation with Iran, noting that Trump's promise to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons has not been fulfilled. Dayan suggested Trump is currently engaged in a campaign to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, possibly seeking a public statement from Qatar that Iran is prepared to do so.

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Trump is getting tens of billions of dollars in return for this deal.