US senators seek more information on Trump’s Saudi nuclear proposal, letter says

On September 16, a group of U.S. senators from both major parties urged President Donald Trump's administration to declassify and release all information regarding a proposed agreement with Saudi Arabia concerning civil nuclear energy. The senators, including Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley and Ed Markey, as well as Republicans Rand Paul and John Kennedy, requested access to the two classified side letters reached with Riyadh.

The senators argued that the government has previously reached similar "123 nuclear agreements" with other countries, yet did not withhold information about those deals. They emphasized that providing the full text of the agreement is crucial for both the Senate and the public to comprehensively understand the commitments being made on behalf of the nation and those made by Saudi Arabia toward the United States.

The State and Energy departments did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The letter, co-signed by 14 senators, prompted lawmakers to push for the declassification of the side letters and related documents. The nuclear agreement, which sets a 30-year timeline for the construction of AP1000 reactors, is worth tens of billions of dollars and would benefit Westinghouse, a joint venture of Canada-based Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management.

However, critics, including some Democratic lawmakers and nonproliferation advocates, contend that the agreement lacks strict nonproliferation measures such as barring Saudi Arabia from enriching uranium or reprocessing nuclear waste, which are considered critical safeguards in the 2009 civil nuclear deal with the United Arab Emirates. The Trump administration, however, maintains that the deal includes nonproliferation measures required by law.