Saudi Arabia preparing to grant IAEA more intrusive powers, Grossi says

Business Recorder reported that a planned civil nuclear deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia will not require Riyadh to sign the Additional Protocol, a supplementary pact that grants the IAEA broad inspection rights. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday that several measures close to that protocol are being negotiated. The United States and Saudi Arabia agreed the cooperation framework in July, allowing Riyadh to enrich uranium and build reactors with American technology.

Non-proliferation advocates such as the Arms Control Association object that the planned 123 agreement leaves out that protocol, which lets inspectors conduct surprise checks at undeclared sites. Grossi said the protocol would be the ideal arrangement, yet Riyadh is getting ready to go beyond its basic commitments under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA. Iran applied the protocol between 2016 and 2021 under an accord with major powers that fell apart after the U.S. withdrew in 2018.

According to Grossi, consultations have added provisions to the bilateral deal that would give the agency extra verification and monitoring powers over uranium enrichment, conversion and reprocessing, the last of which can extract plutonium from spent fuel. He called these sensitive activities and said the authorisations would closely resemble those in the protocol, though he gave no details. Once the details are settled, the IAEA-Saudi agreement will go before the agency's 35-nation Board of Governors.