Saudi Arabia preparing to give IAEA powers close to its Additional Protocol, Grossi says

Saudi Arabia is preparing to give the International Atomic Energy Agency inspection and monitoring powers that Grossi said would come close to those provided by the agency’s Additional Protocol, even though Riyadh is not set to sign the protocol itself.

The planned US-Saudi civil nuclear agreement would allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium and build nuclear reactors using US technology. Non-proliferation groups, including the Arms Control Association, have criticized the planned “123 agreement” because it does not include the Additional Protocol. That framework gives the UN nuclear watchdog wider powers, including snap inspections at undeclared sites.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi called the Additional Protocol the “ideal setup,” but said consultations on the Saudi arrangement had produced additional provisions for the bilateral agreement. Those provisions would authorize extra verification and monitoring of uranium enrichment, uranium conversion, and reprocessing, which can separate plutonium from spent reactor fuel.

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ideal setup

“These are sensitive activities, as we all know. So for those we are going to have authorisations and capacities which are very, very similar to those that you may find in an Additional Protocol,” Grossi told a news conference, without providing further details.

Once the terms are finalized, the bilateral agreement between the IAEA and Saudi Arabia will go before the agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors. The issue has drawn scrutiny because the planned nuclear cooperation would give Riyadh access to sensitive technology while relying on safeguards that stop short of the full protocol.

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These are sensitive activities, as we all know. So for those we are going to have authorisations and capacities which are very, very similar to those that you may find in an Additional Protocol.