The Times of Israel on Aug. 26 made clear that a deal for civilian nuclear power is the primary bribe with which the Biden Administration is trying, even now, to pry Saudi Arabia away from its major trade and diplomatic relationship with China, and from BRICS membership. The ToI story features an Axios report that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer (visiting Washington) that Israel will have to make “significant concessions” to the Palestinian organizations in order to land diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia—another part of this “deal” with which the U.S. is trying to pressure the Saudis.
According to the report, the far right-wing Netanyahu government does not want to offer any such concessions to the Palestinians, and regards its part of the “deal” as simply agreeing that Saudi Arabia can develop a civilian nuclear power program (presumably meaning that Israel won’t bomb nuclear power plants, assassinate nuclear scientists, etc).
The Wall Street Journal on Aug. 25 claimed that Saudi Arabia, for its part, is considering a Chinese offer for China National Nuclear Corp. to construct a nuclear power plant in the country, near Saudi Arabia’s borders with Qatar and the U.A.E. The U.S. alternative is for Korea Electric Power Corp. to build the two reactors involved, “while incorporating American expertise,” said Times of Israel. Saudi Arabia would have to abandon any idea of enriching uranium, which would not be the case with the 20% less costly Chinese reactors.
