Saudi Arabia is preparing to give the International Atomic Energy Agency significantly expanded inspection authority as part of its planned civil nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States, according to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

Washington and Riyadh reached an agreement in July that would permit Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium and construct nuclear reactors using American technology.

The agreement does not require Saudi Arabia to formally adopt the IAEA’s Additional Protocol, a framework that gives inspectors sweeping powers including access to undeclared locations and the ability to carry out snap inspections.

That omission has drawn criticism from arms-control and nonproliferation groups concerned about the potential risks of allowing Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium.

Grossi said Monday that while full adoption of the Additional Protocol would be preferable, negotiations are producing separate provisions that could give IAEA inspectors comparable authority over particularly sensitive activities.

Those activities include uranium enrichment, uranium conversion and the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, a process capable of separating plutonium.

Grossi described the planned inspection powers as very similar in key areas to what the agency would receive under an Additional Protocol.

Once negotiations are completed, the separate safeguards arrangement between Saudi Arabia and the IAEA is expected to be submitted to the agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors for approval.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)