{"text":[[{"start":13.25,"text":"The US has signed an agreement to help Saudi Arabia develop a civilian nuclear programme, in an arrangement long sought by Riyadh."}],[{"start":20.8,"text":"The Department of Energy said on Wednesday the two countries had signed “a peaceful nuclear co-operation agreement” that would “lay the legal foundation for a decades-long, multibillion-dollar partnership”, provide “great access for American companies” and help to fulfil President Donald Trump’s “nuclear renaissance” for America."}],[{"start":41.35,"text":"The announcement comes as the US nears the end of its fifth month of war with Iran, a conflict that has badly battered Saudi Arabia and its neighbours, as Washington’s allies across the region have come under fire from Iranian missiles and drones."}],[{"start":56.150000000000006,"text":"Iran’s retaliatory stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical export route for Gulf oil and gas, has added to Riyadh’s challenges while straining global oil reserves and driving up petrol prices."}],[{"start":67.85000000000001,"text":"Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said the agreement “builds on longstanding energy co-operation” between Washington and Riyadh and “expands opportunities for co-operation and investment in ways that serve the mutual interests of the two friendly countries”. "}],[{"start":83.50000000000001,"text":"The deal to help Riyadh develop an alternative framework for generating electricity would give US companies a leading role in its nuclear energy programme, including the possible American-led construction of a uranium enrichment facility following a joint study, said two people familiar with the agreement."}],[{"start":100.65,"text":"But the partnership lacks the gold-standard protocols contained in many other so-called 123 agreements by the US, including with Saudi Arabia’s Gulf neighbour the United Arab Emirates, which bar uranium enrichment and reprocessing while also committing to regular inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency."}],[{"start":119.10000000000001,"text":"Rosemary Kelanic, the director of the Middle East programme at Defense Priorities, a think-tank, said the US has “never” before helped another country enrich uranium domestically due to concerns over proliferation."}],[{"start":131.3,"text":"“Producing fissile material is the hardest technological bottleneck towards nuclear weapons proliferation,” she said. “Once they produce the fissile material, they can divert it for nuclear weapons.”"}],[{"start":143.3,"text":"Trump administration officials said the deal contains sufficient safeguards."}],[{"start":147.75,"text":"“Rest assured, these agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and non-proliferation, while relying on the world’s best nuclear technology and scientists, designed right here in the United States,” US energy secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday."}],[{"start":164.1,"text":"US secretary of state Marco Rubio told reporters earlier that Washington “is not going to reach any agreement with any country in the world that leads to the risk of proliferation”."}],[{"start":174.7,"text":"But news of the deal, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, and its absence of gold standard protocols have already alarmed US lawmakers and non-proliferation experts."}],[{"start":185.85,"text":"“For us to greenlight a Saudi programme that not only has enrichment and reprocessing . . . but also doesn’t even have an additional protocol, doesn’t even have inspections at that level, is outrageous,” Democrat Brad Sherman said in a congressional hearing on Wednesday. "}],[{"start":202.9,"text":"“I remember when the most powerful monarch in the Middle East was a friend of the United States and that was the Shah,” he added. “And every weapons system that the Shah had in 1978 [was] in the hands of the mullahs starting in 1979.” "}],[{"start":219.70000000000002,"text":"Saudi Arabia has pursued a civilian nuclear power programme for two decades, and has explored nuclear development with South Korean, Chinese, French and Russian partners."}],[{"start":230.55,"text":"US officials say the countries were close to inking a three-way pact including Israel in 2023 that would have incorporated US participation and safeguards, along with Saudi Arabia’s normalisation of ties with Israel. But the effort was derailed by Israel’s war in Gaza."}],[{"start":248.75,"text":"Kelanic said Wednesday’s agreement could represent an effort by Washington to keep Saudi Arabia “on our side” because they “have been pummelled by the Iranians in the war . . . as the result of Operation Epic Fury.” But she added: “This is a really boneheaded way to do it because of the follow-on effects.”"}],[{"start":266.9,"text":"Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also told CBS News in 2018 that “if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we would follow suit as soon as possible.”"}],[{"start":277.25,"text":"Anti-proliferation experts warn that the increased potential for nuclear weapons acquisition can be sufficient motivation for both allies and adversaries to more aggressively pursue their own programmes or to skirt safeguards."}],[{"start":290.7,"text":"Forging nuclear agreements on a “one-off” basis with countries “sets a dangerous precedent”, said Emma Belcher, president of Ploughshares, a nuclear weapons threat reduction foundation. It also “raises a red flag when countries don’t want inspectors, particularly when this is the norm around the world”, she added. "}],[{"start":308.09999999999997,"text":"Additional reporting by Myles McCormick in Washington "}],[{"start":318.24999999999994,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784772400_5904.mp3"}