Saudi Arabia’s First Nuclear Reactor Nearly Finished, Sparking Fears Over Safeguards
Julian Borger | Guardian
Saudi Arabia is within months of completing its first nuclear reactor, new satellite images show, but it has yet to show any readiness to abide by safeguards that would prevent it making a bomb. The reactor site is in the King Abdulaziz city for science and technology on the outskirts of Riyadh. The site was identified by Robert Kelley, a former director for nuclear inspections at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who said it was very small 30-kilowatt research reactor, not far from completion. “I would guess they could have it all done, with the roof in place and the electricity turned on, within a year,” said Kelley, who worked for more than three decades in research and engineering in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex.
U.S. Senators Seek Details on Nuclear Power Cooperation with Saudi Arabia
Timothy Gardner | Reuters
U.S. senators from both parties on Tuesday asked Energy Secretary Rick Perry for details about recent approvals for companies to share nuclear energy information with Saudi Arabia, with the lawmakers expressing concern about possible development of atomic weapons. Saudi Arabia has engaged in “many deeply troubling actions and statements that have provoked alarm in Congress,” Senators Bob Menendez, a Democrat, and Marco Rubio, a Republican, told Perry in a letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters. The senators said Congress was beginning to reevaluate the U.S.-Saudi relationship, and they believe Washington should not be providing nuclear technology or information to Saudi Arabia now.
In Rare Speech to Congress, NATO Leader Says Allies Must Deter Moscow
Helene Cooper and Julian Barnes | New York Times
The NATO secretary general gave a strong defense of the 70-year-old military alliance between Europe and the United States, using a high-profile appearance before a joint session of Congress on Wednesday to urge allies to stand up to a more assertive Russia. While the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is not looking for a new Cold War with Moscow, the alliance’s leader, Jens Stoltenberg, said it was important to not be “naïve” about the Kremlin’s intentions. Proffering a long list of Russian actions that threaten NATO allies, including the annexation of Crimea, the use of a nerve agent in Britain and Moscow’s interference in democratic elections, Mr. Stoltenberg cited “a pattern of Russian behavior” that calls for the alliance to be more united than ever in its response. “NATO will always take the necessary steps to provide credible and effective deterrence,” Mr. Stoltenberg said at the Capitol. He was in Washington for a meeting of foreign ministers from NATO member states.
Turkey’s Purchase of Russian Missile System ‘Defies NATO’
Guardian
Turkey’s insistence on buying a missile system from Russia is striking a note of disunity as the Nato alliance prepares to mark its 70th anniversary in Washington. Foreign ministers from the 29-member western alliance are hoping to show a tough, united, front over a resurgent Russia as they meet for two days in the U.S. capital. But the Turkish foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, declared in Washington that there was no turning back on buying Russia’s S-400 missile defence system – two days after the U.S. suspended the Nato ally’s participation in the F-35 fighter jet programme.
Trump Says He Told Kim That He “Wasn’t Ready for a Deal” During Hanoi Summit
Hwang Joon-bum | Hankyoreh
U.S. President Donald Trump disclosed on Apr. 2 that he told North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, at the end of February that Kim “wasn’t ready for a deal.” Trump made the remarks in an address at the spring dinner of the National Republican Congressional Committee. “We had to walk,” Trump said. “He wasn’t ready for a deal, but that’s okay, because we get along great.” “I told him, you’re not ready for a deal. That’s the first time anybody has ever told him that and left. Never happened to him before.”
Pentagon Developing Low-Yield Nuclear Cruise Missiles for Submarines
Ben Werner | USNI News
The Pentagon is in the early stages of developing low-yield submarine-launched nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, a senior Department of Defense official told lawmakers Wednesday. Both Russia and China are making substantial improvements to their nuclear forces, notably increases to low-yield nuclear weapons, John Rood, the Under Secretary of Defense for policy, said during a Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee hearing. Inside the Pentagon’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget request, Rood said, the military is requesting money for a low-yield modification to an existing warhead for submarine-launched ballistic missiles and submarine-launched cruise missiles.