Saudi Arabia plans to bid for the first nuclear power plant next year with US, Russian, South Korean, Chinese and French companies. The meeting between US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry with Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman in Riyadh, aims to persuade Saudi Arabia to accept whichever inspection the IAEA requires.
But the announcement from Abdulaziz bin Salman that Riyadh is seeking uranium enrichment for its nuclear program, is likely to complicate Saudi negotiations with the US government on the nuclear deal and the role of US companies in Riyadh.
The US is concerned about the Saudi nuclear program, because what is at stake is the strategic situation in the region. Saudi Arabia currently has problems with its neighbors on several fronts: in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf with Iran, in Yemen with Ansarullah, in the north with Hezbollah and Syria, in the south and west with Qatar.
