Although negotiations to end the conflict in Gaza continue, insiders say a civilian nuclear assistance agreement between Washington and Riyadh is ready for signature as a down payment for Saudi Arabia normalization of relations.  What’s worrisome is that this nuclear deal reportedly includes American nuclear assistance for the Kingdom to enrich uranium on Saudi soil.

Enriching uranium is a nuclear proliferation red flag. As I note in the attached piece that The Hill just ran, “Netanyahu needs to speak truth on Saudi nuclear deal,” it is the nuclear process that has brought Iran to the brink of producing a nuclear bomb now in matter of days or weeks.

Five years ago, Congress understood this. Their concerns convinced the Trump Administration to demand that the Saudis forswear this activity as a condition for reaching a U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement.

It’s unclear now what Congress thinks. Democrat Brad Sherman proposed legislation to block the United States from helping Saudi Arabia enrich uranium.  But the Republican House is unlikely to support it nor has any Republican criticized President Biden’s nuclear bargaining. A key reason for their reticence is that Netanyahu has not spoken against Biden’s nuclear bargain.  He spoke against the Trump administration in 2018 and his nuclear advisors voiced their opposition last fall but Netanyahu, so far, has not shown his hand.

This is worrisome since the Biden Administration reportedly wants to sign a Saudi nuclear agreement separate from any Middle East mega-deal. In this case, the nuclear fix would be in: The only way Congress can block such agreements is with two-thirds majorities in both houses. In 70 years, that has never happened. Congress has delayed agreements but never killed them.

What’s to be done? At the very least, Congress should ask Netanyahu to speak up.  He is scheduled to speak before Congress on July 24^th.  Does he favor the Saudis getting as close to a bomb as Iran? Does he reject the advice of his own nuclear advisors?

Beyond getting Israel on record, Congress should ask why they suddenly deem the deal they opposed five years ago as acceptable now.  As I explain in the piece below, it’s not. If our government says yes to letting the Saudis get a nuclear bomb option by helping them enrich uranium on their soil, others with U.S. nuclear agreements will demand the same. For starters, that includes South Korea, Turkey and the UAE.