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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Saudi Arabia is about to complete the construction of its first nuclear reactor, according to satellite images of Google identified by a nuclear expert who said Thursday that the construction to date seemed to be very small size and intended for research and training.
Nevertheless, Robert Kelley said that, for the kingdom to be able to insert nuclear fuel into the reactor, it would have to comply with an agreement providing for inspections by the United States Nuclear Monitoring Agency, the Agency International Atomic Energy.
Kelley, a veteran of the US Department of Energy and former director of nuclear inspections at the Vienna-based IAEA, was the first to identify images from the reactor site in Riyadh at King Abdulaziz City (KACST).
The Associated Press was unable to immediately contact Ministry of Energy or KACST spokespeople for comments.
Kelley said that he was surprised by the "non-transparency" of the realm in the process of building the reactor and by "looking very cavalier about altering their arrangements with the IAEA".
Kelley was referring to the agreements that the kingdom has signed. The kingdom accepted the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty three decades ago. In 2005, it signed an agreement with the IAEA called the "Small Quantity Protocol" which allows countries with negligible nuclear programs to be exempted from regular nuclear inspections or surveillance.
However, once the nuclear fuel has been introduced into the country to operate this small reactor, IAEA inspections would be needed, Kelley said.
"It's just that they're exceeding a threshold in terms of needs," said Kelley, explaining the importance of building the reactor, much smaller than those the kingdom said it would build for energy purposes.
According to the satellite images identified by Kelley, the type of reactor being built is used by technicians for learning and training purposes.
"The reactor is at the bottom of an open tank filled with water from a height of 10 meters (32 feet). It's very, very small, "said Kelley, adding that the reactor core was about the size of a gallon-sized paint bucket.
He said that the Saudi reactor is being built by the Argentinian government company INVAP. Before Argentina brings nuclear fuel to Saudi Arabia for the reactor, the IAEA agreement that exempts Saudi Arabia from inspections will have to be canceled, said Kelley. .
"I think it's a 100% certainty that Argentina will not provide uranium fuel to a country that does not have safeguards in place ", he added.
At the same time, the Trump administration announced last week that it had approved seven applications for the sale of nuclear power and badistance to US companies in Saudi Arabia. Republican and Democratic lawmakers, however, have expressed concern that Saudi Arabia could develop nuclear weapons if US technology is transferred without proper safeguards.
The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, also did not exclude the development of a nuclear weapon. He told CBS last year: "Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclear bombs, but it goes without saying that if Iran develops a nuclear bomb, we will do the same, as soon as possible."
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