Saudi Arabia's Bold Nuclear Frontier: Enriching and Selling Uranium

Saudi Arabia's energy minister announced plans to monetize minerals, including uranium, by engaging in enrichment and sales. While Riyadh aims to expand its nuclear program for energy diversification, its potential for weapons development remains under scrutiny. The country intends to enhance nuclear oversight by 2024.

Saudi Arabia is set to revolutionize its mineral sector, with plans to monetize uranium through enrichment and sales, as revealed by Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. Speaking at a conference in Dhahran, he emphasized the kingdom's ambitions to produce 'yellowcake,' a powdered concentrate crucial for preparing nuclear fuel.

While Saudi Arabia's nuclear program remains nascent, it has outlined intentions to expand its capabilities to include uranium enrichment, a sensitive initiative due to its implications for nuclear weapons development. The kingdom seeks to diversify its energy portfolio, though its long-term nuclear intentions remain uncertain, especially after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman indicated a potential shift towards nuclear armament should regional tensions with Iran escalate.

The United Arab Emirates, a neighboring Gulf state, has already established a functioning multi-unit nuclear energy facility without engaging in uranium enrichment or fuel reprocessing. Saudi Arabia, seeking to further its nuclear endeavors, announced plans last year to transition from a 'light-touch' oversight arrangement with the U.N. atomic watchdog to regular safeguards by 2024, even as its first reactor remains undeveloped and monitored under existing international agreements.

(With inputs from agencies.)