Saudi Envoy Soils Iran’s Nuclear Energy Program

Date: 12 March 2022 - 22:13

News ID: ۱۰۰۹۴۵

VIENNA (Dispatches) -- Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has articulated false concerns about the safety of Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran.
Addressing the IAEA Board of Governors, Prince Abdullah bin Khalid bin Sultan Riyadh was worried as a result of what he alleged as “the absence of reports and information regarding the safety of Bushehr reactor.”
He went on to claim that Iran was the only country that had a functioning nuclear power plant and “has not yet joined the Nuclear Safety Convention.”
Prince Abdullah also alleged that Iran had not cooperated with the IAEA on the inspection of some sites.
He called on Tehran to fully cooperate with the UN nuclear agency, and avoid what he termed the policy of delay and procrastination in answering the ongoing inquiries.
The Saudi official also demanded an agreement with stronger and longer limitations on Iran as representatives from the Islamic Republic and the remaining parties to the 2015 deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are engaged in negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna to revive the accord and remove sanctions on Tehran.
The Bushehr power plant started operating in 2011 and reached its full capacity the following year.
Back in August 2020, the Wall Street Journal newspaper, citing Western officials with knowledge of the matter, reported that Saudi Arabia had built a facility for the extraction of uranium yellowcake in a remote desert location near the northwestern small city of Al-Ula.
The facility, which has not been publicly acknowledged, has raised concern that Saudi Arabia’s nascent nuclear program is moving ahead, and Riyadh is keeping open an option to develop nuclear weapons, according to the report.
Yellowcake is processed from naturally occurring uranium ore and can be further enriched to create fuel for nuclear power plants and, at very high levels of enrichment, nuclear weapons.
Earlier, satellite images revealed that Saudi Arabia was pushing ahead to complete its first nuclear reactor.
The images have raised concern among arms control experts because the kingdom has yet to implement international monitoring rules.