After meeting Trump administration officials on Tuesday, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said he is confident that the United States will not relax nonproliferation standards in any nuclear power deal it reaches with Saudi Arabia.
Israel vehemently opposes any effort by Saudi Arabia to relax "gold standard" nonproliferation limits on enriching uranium or reprocessing nuclear fuel in any deal between the two countries, Steinitz told Reuters.
"Once you allow one country to enrich uranium or reprocess fuel, it will be extremely difficult to tell other countries in this vicinity or elsewhere in the world not to do so," he said.
Steinitz, in Washington for the World Gas Conference, met this week with members of the Trump administration to discuss Saudi Arabia's quest to build at least two nuclear power stations with the help of U.S. technology.
He did not identify with whom he met.
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has been working with Saudi Arabia on a civilian nuclear agreement that could allow the kingdom to enrich uranium and reprocess plutonium, practices that nonproliferation advocates worry could one day be covertly altered to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons.
The U.S. Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the status of the nuclear power talks with Saudi Arabia.
Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have diplomatic relations, but they share concerns over Iranian influence in the Middle East.
If the United States allows Saudi to relax the standards, "then you deteriorate the nonproliferation effort, so I am confident the Americans would listen to our concern," Steinitz said.
Steinitz said it would support Saudi Arabia's development of nuclear power only if it included the gold standard protections and if the kingdom purchases uranium from the United States.
Saudi Arabia has said if it does not get U.S. assistance to build reactors, it could turn to other international partners. The kingdom is currently also in talks with companies from countries such as Russia, China and South Korea.
