US Senators have sent a warning letter to President Donald Trump, highlighting the dangers of secret nuclear and missile programs carried out by Saudi Arabia with the help of China.
And the American Wall Street Journal published on Wednesday that members of the Republican and Democratic parties in the Senate have warned Trump that Saudi Arabia's secret nuclear and missile programs represent a threat to efforts to limit the spread of these weapons in the region.
The letter referred to reports that Riyadh had made great strides, with Chinese help, to develop the infrastructure for the production of advanced ballistic missiles.
The newspaper quoted Senator Chris Van Hollen as saying that the technologies that Saudi Arabia obtained from China without controls will give it a latent ability to produce materials for nuclear weapons.
Uranium cake
The message came after the same newspaper quoted Western officials two weeks ago as saying that Saudi Arabia had set up a facility to extract what is known as "yellow uranium cake", which is used as fuel for nuclear reactors.
The New York Times reported on August 6 that the CIA is investigating efforts by Saudi Arabia to enhance its ability to produce nuclear fuel that puts the kingdom on the first path to developing nuclear weapons.
The newspaper said that there are concerns on the part of the US administration about the reality of the Saudi nuclear program, and the actual size of activities aimed at developing nuclear weapons, warning also of cooperation between Riyadh and Beijing in this regard.
Israeli concern
In a related context, the Israeli government informed the Trump administration of its concern about the Saudi nuclear facility, which was reportedly set up in the desert with Chinese help, according to the Axios website.
The site quoted prominent Israeli intelligence officials that there are worrisome indications about what the Saudis might do, stressing that both Washington and the International Atomic Energy Agency do not have a clear picture of what is happening with regard to the facility, and are currently working to clarify the matter from the Saudi authorities.
The officials indicated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working cautiously on the facility file for fear of damaging relations with China and Saudi Arabia, and that Riyadh has chosen to cooperate with Beijing "because it believes that China will not ask for any guarantees that the facility will be used for peaceful purposes only."
The Israeli news site Walla quoted informed sources as saying that the Israeli intelligence services, along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Intelligence Affairs and the Nuclear Energy Commission are closely monitoring the development of relations between Riyadh and Beijing.