“We will enrich it and we will sell it and we will do a ‘yellowcake,’” Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman declared, speaking to an energy conference in the country, according to the Saudi news outlet Al Arabiya. Saudi officials have openly discussed the possibility of developing a nuclear program – both for peaceful and military reasons – for over a decade. While they have limited themselves to suggesting they would develop nuclear weapons only in the event that rival Iran announces it has successfully built its own bomb, peaceful nuclear energy development has become a recurring theme in public conversations on diversifying Saudi Arabia’s oil-dependent economy.
Chatter regarding the Saudis developing their own nuclear program, including building nuclear power plants, increased following the implementation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’ “Vision 2030” program, intended to protect the Saudi economy by moving beyond oil dependence. Perhaps the most sensational “Vision 2030” project, the to-be-built “green” megacity “Neom,” will allegedly only run on green energy, potentially requiring its own nuclear facilities. (Read More)
