Latest News

Trump to ask Congress to approve Saudi Arabia nuclear energy accord

Published

3 months ago

July 22, 2026

Bilal

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.

Latest News

LHC issues show-cause notice to senior police officer

Published

13 hours ago

November 3, 2026

Bilal

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to the Superintendent of Police (SP) Model Town,

The court ordered the SP concerned to appear before it today (3 Nov). It also warned him of contempt of court proceedings against him if he does not appear before the court.

Citizen Muhammed Sajid has moved the petition which would be heard by Justice Tariq Mehmood Bajwa.

Business

Saudi Aramco profits surge 34.6% in third quarter

Published

13 hours ago

November 3, 2026

Bilal

Saudi oil company Aramco said Tuesday its third-quarter net earnings soared 34.6 percent as the Middle East war has kept crude prices high and the kingdom’s energy infrastructure regularly struck.

Since hostilities erupted in July, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have routinely targeted Saudi tankers, pipelines, storage facilities and refineries but have stepped up their attacks in recent weeks.

The monarchy also has had to deal with the Houthis and Iran disrupting commerce in the straits of Bab al-Mandeb and Hormuz making exports more difficult.

But Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s economic engine and one of the world’s most valuable firms, posted soaring earnings in the third quarter, powered in large part by stubbornly high oil prices.

The company stated net profit in the third quarter was 135.9 billion riyals ($36.2 billion), compared with roughly 101 billion riyals in the same time a year earlier.

The results come as energy majors throughout the world have seen profits jump on the back of interruptions to oil and gas supplies in the Middle East pushing up refining margins and prices.

But the head of Aramco cautioned the dispute was still a major drag on energy security.”Geopolitical uncertainty and attacks on key energy facilities continued to amplify the global energy supply crisis in the third quarter of 2026, with serious implications for global energy security,” said president and CEO Amin H. Nasser in a statement.

Adjusted net income, excluding exceptional items, was 116.9 billion riyals.

An outside estimate based on 12 experts estimates puts the median analyst expectation for third-quarter adjusted net income at $30.66 billion.”The earning results are likely to be rosier (compared) to a year ago, when oil prices were much lower, but less promising compared to last quarter,” Robert Mogielnicki, a research fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, told AFP.

Aramco’s net profit rose 44 percent year-on-year to 122.6 billion riyals in the second quarter.

The Middle East war, which began on February 28 with Israeli and U.S. assaults on Iran, has disrupted global energy markets, triggered a global run on critical reserves, and fed inflation.

And as conflict continues to rage in the Gulf, Ukrainian drones have also struck Russian energy infrastructure, causing Moscow to block shipment of several items – particularly petrol and diesel.

The Houthis said last month they attacked Aramco’s headquarters, a sprawling complex of buildings and housing in the eastern part of the kingdom.

Saudi officials stated a structure was damaged in the region housing the operations center of Aramco, while two employees of the business, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said a tower in the headquarters was hit.

A tight spot – With the Strait of Hormuz in dispute, US Navy naval escorts have been allowing millions of barrels of crude to flow through the vital waterway each day.

US Central Command said last month it had assisted Gulf nations export more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil through the strait since the summer, and enabled more than 3,000 commercial boats transit over the past six months.

But the rise in Gulf exports has done nothing to stop market volatility.

Oil prices dropped more than seven percent on Monday as signals that Tehran and Washington were resuming communication raised hopes for an end to the Middle East turmoil.

Back in the kingdom, months of uncertainty have compounded economic challenges.

Saudi Arabia has raised its estimated budget deficit for 2026 to 245 billion riyals, or 4.9 percent of gross domestic product, from an initial forecast of 165 billion riyals. Government receipts were higher than previously forecast.

Government spending will rise 9.3 percent more than previously predicted, but the finance ministry expects the Saudi economy would shrink 3.6 percent in 2026, as oil-related activity will fall 21.8 percent.

The kingdom aims to lower its deficit to 191 billion riyals in 2027, or 3.6 percent of GDP, while continuing to invest in economic diversification programs.

The IMF now expects Saudi Arabia’s GDP to shrink by 3.3% at the end of the year, five percentage points less than its previous prediction in July.