US lawmakers say any civil nuclear deal with Saudi must not create arms race

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top ⁠Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, ‌said any deal with Saudi Arabia must include enhanced inspections through an agreement known as the Additional Protocol, which boosts the ability of the International Atomic Energy Agency to verify peaceful use of all nuclear ‍material. It is critical that the U.S. hold Saudi Arabia to the "gold standard" in what is known as a 123 Agreement to ensure Riyadh will not enrich uranium or reprocess plutonium, as the United Arab Emirates agreed in 2009 when it signed a civil nuclear pact ​with Washington, she said. "We must not fuel a nuclear arms race in the Middle East." (Read more at Yahoo News)