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United States senator prompts Biden to consist of safeguards in any nuclear power handle Saudi Arabia

A Democratic U.S. senator on Wednesday prompted President Joe Biden to include rigorous nonproliferation safeguards in any nuclear power deal with Saudi Arabia that may come as part of a prospective normalization of relations contract brokered by Washington in between the kingdom and Israel.

The Biden administration has been talking with Saudi Arabia and Israel on a prospective peace contract because before the Oct. 7 fatal attacks by Hamas on Israel and talks have continued during the Israeli war on the militant group in Gaza.

An arrangement to assist establish nuclear power in Saudi Arabia might benefit the U.S. nuclear industry which would supply technology.

Senator Edward Markey, a longtime advocate for nonproliferation safeguards, said in a letter to fellow Democrat Biden that Saudi Arabia, a country with a dreadful human rights record, can not be depended use its nuclear program purely for serene purposes and will seek to develop nuclear weapons.

Markey and other Democrats are critics of the nation and its de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, over human rights, his intervention in Yemen's civil war and the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi that U.S. spy companies examined was bought by the prince.

The prince has stated for several years the kingdom will develop nuclear weapons if local competing Iran does.

I prompt your Administration to make sure that the course towards Middle East peace holds Saudi Arabia responsible for its terrible human rights practices and constrains its capability to become a nuclear power, Markey stated in a letter to Biden and other officials.

The Saudi embassy in Washington did not right away respond to an ask for remark.

The letter, first reported , prompts the administration to adopt so-called gold requirement nonproliferation safeguards, based on the 123 contract in U.S. nuclear energy law that restrict uranium enrichment and nuclear reprocessing, 2 pathways to nuclear weapons. The UAE consented to these safeguards when it developed a nuclear plant in 2021.

Markey also urged the administration to firmly insist that Saudi Arabia likewise be held to the extra protocol standards of the U.N.'s nuclear guard dog, the International Atomic Energy Company, which needs tracking and examinations.

The White House's nationwide security council did not right away react to an ask for comment.

Some specialists question whether the timing and political scenarios will permit a U.S.-Saudi deal that causes Riyadh normalizing relations with Israel.

Possibly most critically, Saudi Arabia has actually called for an instant truce causing an irreversible and sustainable ceasefire in Israel's war versus Hamas and the facility of an independent Palestinian state, both of which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declined.

Time is growing short for the Biden administration to shepherd a U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear contract and defense pact through the congressional approval process as legislators concentrate on marketing ahead of the Nov. 5 elections.