Which Middle East nations have nuclear programmes, and how were they built?

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that the United States and Saudi Arabia have signed a 30-year civil nuclear cooperation agreement, marking a step toward Riyadh developing a civilian nuclear programme with US assistance. The pact was signed on Wednesday by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman and is described as a “123 agreement”, the legal framework that allows American companies to transfer nuclear technology abroad under the US Atomic Energy Act.

The article says many details of the Saudi arrangement remain unclear, including how safeguards will be enforced. Al Jazeera reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency was not part of the bilateral agreement, while both countries are signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. A separate bilateral safeguards agreement was also signed, and the deal is set to go to the US Congress for review, with US firms such as Westinghouse potentially benefiting.

Al Jazeera placed the Saudi deal in the wider context of nuclear activity in the Middle East. It noted Iran’s programme began in 1957 with US support for civilian uses, later becoming the focus of international scrutiny over enrichment sites and weapons-related concerns that Tehran has denied. The report also recounted the 2015 JCPOA, the US withdrawal in 2018, and later US-Israeli military action targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.

The report also discussed Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Israel is not an NPT member and does not confirm whether it has nuclear weapons, though Al Jazeera cited the Nuclear Threat Initiative as saying Israel has possessed warheads for decades. The UAE, by contrast, launched a declared civilian programme after a 2009 US agreement and said it would not enrich uranium or reprocess spent fuel.