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Saudi Arabia set to grant IAEA more investigative powers

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency New plan
  • Saudi Arabia is preparing to give the IAEA expanded monitoring and verification powers under a planned bilateral agreement, despite not signing the watchdog’s Additional Protocol.
  • The additional authorities would cover sensitive activities including uranium conversion, enrichment and reprocessing.
  • IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the finalized agreement will go before the agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors.

Saudi Arabia is preparing to grant the International Atomic Energy Agency powers “very, very similar” to those provided by the watchdog’s Additional Protocol, although Riyadh will not sign that protocol under its planned civil nuclear deal with the United States.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said the provisions are being developed through consultations over a bilateral agreement between the agency and Saudi Arabia. The planned arrangement would give inspectors additional verification and monitoring authority over uranium conversion and enrichment, as well as the reprocessing of spent reactor fuel, which can separate plutonium.

The ideal setup

· Rafael GrossiThe IAEA chief’s description of the Additional Protocol.

The US and Saudi Arabia reached a civil nuclear cooperation agreement in July. It would allow Riyadh to enrich uranium and build nuclear reactors using US technology. Non-proliferation groups, including the Arms Control Association, have criticized the planned agreement for excluding the Additional Protocol, which gives the IAEA wider inspection powers, including snap inspections at undeclared sites.

What is important is that in the consultations, in the preparation process, it has been possible to introduce a number of provisions to the bilateral agreement that will give the agency additional verification and monitoring authorizations

· Rafael GrossiGrossi explained how the planned Saudi-IAEA agreement would expand monitoring powers.

Grossi called the Additional Protocol the “ideal setup,” but said Saudi Arabia was preparing to go beyond the obligations set out in its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA. “What is important is that in the consultations, in the preparation process, it has been possible to introduce a number of provisions to the bilateral agreement that will give the agency additional verification and monitoring authorizations,” he said.

Once the details are finalized, the bilateral agreement will be submitted to the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors.

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

· Rafael GrossiGrossi referred to oversight of enrichment, conversion and reprocessing.
About this summary

Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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