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Trump to ask Congress to approve Saudi Arabia nuclear energy accord
The Trump administration wants to propose to Congress a contract with Saudi Arabia to share nuclear power technology that does not include protections the United States has long said would avoid materials being used in nuclear weapons projects, two sources told Reuters.
The administration will send to Congress within days a document known as a 123 Agreement to be signed by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi energy minister Abdulaziz bin Salman, the sources said.
The two reached a preliminary deal in Riyadh last year.
The White House and the U.S. Department of Energy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The deal cites Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and is needed to allow the U.S. government and American firms to engage with businesses in the kingdom to build a multibillion-dollar civil nuclear industry.
Sources familiar with the deal say it does not include the “Gold Standard” that would prevent the monarchy from enriching uranium and reprocessing used nuclear fuel, both potential avenues to nuclear weapons.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues, said the deal also excludes the “Additional Protocol” which gives the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency wide and more intrusive oversight of a country’s nuclear activities, including the power to conduct snap inspections at undeclared sites.
The administration would submit the agreement as soon as Wednesday, one of the individuals said. The other suggested the agreement will be submitted in a week or so. One of them, who did not say whether the agreement was without safeguards, said it would be presented shortly.
Wright had stated the preliminary deal was not about enrichment, and it included all the nonproliferation provisions in the Atomic Energy Act, which are among the highest in the world.
The agreement would create a legal framework for working together on the nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium enrichment, without the need for the United States to share any of its related capabilities or technology with Saudi Arabia, according to one of the sources.
FEARS OF PROLIFERATION
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stated long before Iran’s announcement Saudi Arabia would create a nuclear weapon if Iran did, raising concerns among arms control activists and some U.S. politicians about a civil nuclear deal.
Saudi Arabia doesn’t intend to acquire any nuclear bomb but without a doubt if Iran created a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as quickly as possible,” the crown prince told CBS in 2018.
The kingdom has also said it wants to keep the right to enrich uranium.
The United Arab Emirates signed a 123 Agreement in 2009 with Washington and agreed to the “Gold Standard.”
When 123 agreements are sent to Congress, they go through a review period of roughly 90 days of consecutive congressional sessions for lawmakers to object, or they become effective.
Congress would have to pass a joint resolution and have a two-thirds majority to override any presidential veto to block the agreement.
Many Democrats and some Republicans, including President Donald Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he was in the Senate, have insisted any deal contain guardrails.
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Punjab announces to hold Basant in Feb next year
The Punjab government has decided to celebrate Basant next year with the traditional kite-flying event being held in February instead of January.
In this regard, Punjab Home Department and the district administration have prepared a draft plan for Basant in Lahore next year.
The festival has been rescheduled to February and the final date will be revealed after the consent of the provincial government, sources added.
Preparations will be mindful of last year’s experience and preparations. Permission for kite, string and other associated manufacturing operations is also likely to be given soon while laws and regulations governing kite flying will be completed before the festival.
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Bahrain FM congratulates Dar on Makkah Joint Defence Deal
Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani called Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar last nite.
Foreign Minister Al Zayani thanked DPM Dar on signing of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. He also said he would visit Pakistan soon.
Dar appreciated Dr. Al Zayani’s interest to visit Pakistan and thanked him for his good sentiments.
He emphasised Pakistan’s strong commitment to promote dialogue and diplomacy to achieve peace and stability in the region and beyond.
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Trump: Iran must compensate for those it has killed, maimed
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he will demand that Iran pay compensation for “all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded,” in response to Iran seeking compensation for the damages it has incurred from US and Israeli attacks.
Trump’s social media post came after Iran said over the weekend it was nearing a deal with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the US must meet conditions including compensation and an end to sanctions and military threats, before the strategic waterway is reopened.
“It is an interesting idea because now I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump also referenced and claimed compensation from Iran for the October 2000 deadly bombing of the US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Cole at a Yemeni port.
The FBI has attributed that bombing, which killed 17 sailors and wounded more than three dozen others, to al Qaeda.
Trump added that Tehran should also pay compensation to the families of the thousands of people during anti-government protests in January, Iran’s worst domestic unrest since the era of its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Rights groups say the Iranian government has continued to crack down on opponents during the war.
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