Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Saudi Arabia could convert civilian nuclear to military, Israeli expert warns

A former top official for the Israel Atomic Energy Commission has warned that agreeing to Saudi Arabia’s demand to be allowed to build a nuclear power plant as part of a normalization deal with Israel may create a dangerous international precedent and effectively prompt a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

“It won’t matter how many guarantees we receive from the International Atomic Energy Agency,” Ariel (Eli) Levite, who served as principal deputy director general for policy at Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission from 2002 to 2007, told Zman Israel, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew-language sister site, on Monday.

Saudi Arabia has reportedly set three conditions for signing a normalization agreement with Israel — access to advanced American defense technology such as the THAAD missile system, the establishment of a defense alliance with the United States, and a green light to develop nuclear power for civilian purposes. READ MORE