Riyadh has made US assistance with its civil nuclear programme a key demand of any potential agreement to formally recognise Israel
The US risks setting off a new nuclear arms race in the Middle East with its proposed normalisation deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, a former British ambassador to Riyadh has warned.
Joe Biden’s administration is working keenly on a package of agreements that would see Saudi Arabia formally recognise Israel’s nationhood, becoming the biggest Arab power to do so since the Jewish state was founded in 1948.
Riyadh has made US assistance with its civil nuclear programme a key demand of the talks.
Under the terms of the deal, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, US and Israeli officials are discussing a potential US-run uranium enrichment centre on Saudi soil.