Saudi Arabia Preparing to Grant IAEA Greater Inspection Powers, Grossi Says

AP

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

A planned U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal does not include Riyadh signing the Additional Protocol, which grants the UN nuclear watchdog sweeping inspection powers. However, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said on Monday that arrangements covering some of the same areas were being developed.

The United States and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation in July that would allow Riyadh to enrich uranium and build nuclear reactors using U.S. technology.

Non-proliferation groups, including the Arms Control Association, have criticised the planned “123 agreement” for not including the Additional Protocol, which grants the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) additional powers, including the ability to conduct short-notice inspections at undeclared locations.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that while the Additional Protocol would be the “ideal setup”, Saudi Arabia was preparing to go beyond its core obligations under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, which governs its relationship 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 authorisations," he ⁠told a press conference.

Those would be in relation to activities such as uranium enrichment and the step preceding it known as uranium conversion, as well as reprocessing, which can separate plutonium from spent ⁠reactor fuel.

"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," he said, without elaborating.

Once the details are finalised, the bilateral agreement between the IAEA and Saudi Arabia will be presented to the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors, Grossi said.



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