The leak of news of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's cooperation with China in the nuclear program has raised major American newspapers for two consecutive days, asking questions about the significance of publishing these reports at this time.
And the military expert, David de Roche, a former warrior and assistant professor at the Center for Near East and South Asia at the US National Defense University, expected, in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net, that the leak came from an official US government agency.
And the New York Times published a long report stating that the American intelligence agencies have carried out a secret audit in recent weeks about the ongoing efforts in Saudi Arabia to build an industrial capacity to produce nuclear fuel in cooperation with China. The newspaper quoted officials as saying that this scrutiny raised fears that there might be secret Saudi-Chinese efforts to process uranium ore in a manner that can be later enriched and converted into nuclear fuel.
Before that, the Wall Street Journal quoted Western officials as saying that Saudi Arabia had set up a facility to extract what is known as the yellow uranium cake that is used as fuel for nuclear reactors, with the help of China, and the newspaper highlighted the US officials' concerns that Riyadh remains the option of developing nuclear weapons.
De Roche assured Al-Jazeera Net that in some cases "some government employees leak important information to influence the decision-making process in general, and perhaps the leak came either from within one of the US government agencies dealing with nuclear non-proliferation issues, or from a government agency that deals directly with affairs Saudi".
De Roche attributed the goal of the leak to "the leaked feeling that the information about the development of the Saudi nuclear program has become dangerous, and that the Trump administration was not doing enough to prevent the Saudi program from developing."
And if that is the case, the information leaker expects his information to lead to a public discussion on this issue, and perhaps the administration will take drastic measures against the Saudi program, de Roch says.
Fears of a nuclear arms race
Despite the good relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia, Washington does not favor the entry of Riyadh to the nuclear club, whether for civilian or military purposes.
Washington believes that there is no justification for Saudi Arabia to enter the peaceful or military nuclear club, especially with the availability of traditional energy sources in a large way, as observers say, monitoring the relations of the two countries.
"Reports about Saudi Arabia's cooperation with China are very worrying, bin Salman wants to acquire a nuclear bomb, and this is a very dangerous development, and this pushes the Iranians, on the other hand, to resolve to acquire Their own bomb. "
De Roche believes that the Saudis "considered the nuclear agreement with Iran as a disregard for their security concerns, and they have long assured that they expect to proceed in principle in the same course of nuclear development that the nuclear agreement permitted to Iran."
"Therefore, it should not be surprising to see Saudi Arabia enter into a partnership with the country that allows them to obtain the technology necessary for their survival and security at a time when the United States and the West refuse to do so," the military expert added.
Washington fears that countries such as Turkey and Egypt will also seriously consider the possibility of obtaining nuclear programs if Tehran or Riyadh proceeds to pursue this technology.
For his part, David Mack, former assistant secretary of state and expert at the Atlantic Institute, said in an interview with Al Jazeera Net that "Saudi Arabia cannot rely on obtaining nuclear technology from the United States without jumping through the same cordon and obstacles that the UAE has gone through."
The Americans do not trust Saudi Arabia
. Mac noted the difficulties of transferring American nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, saying, "For this kind of nuclear technology transfer to take place, there must be support in Congress as well as the executive branch, and even if Trump is re-elected, Saudi Arabia will not have much chance." To get this technology. "
He added that the Chinese are likely to be less stringent in terms of their terms to ensure the nuclear fuel cycle does not produce any applications for making nuclear bombs or missiles.
The military expert considered that the news of Riyadh's cooperation with Beijing in nuclear files is disturbing, but it was a scenario that was not completely excluded.
According to de Roche, the Saudis have long questioned the extent of support that the United States and the West in general will give them in their conflict with Iran. Since the late 1980s, the Saudis have purchased a long-range surface-to-surface "silkworm" missile and this has shown that they are resorting to China to obtain the technology they feel is necessary for their security and which the West refuses to give them.
Mac stressed to Al Jazeera Net that the nuclear arms race has become a source of great concern to most officials in Washington, and is compounded by "the lack of confidence of the American circles in the Saudis."