NENSC Flash | Former Senior U.S. Officials Urge Congress to Support U.S.–Saudi Nuclear Cooperation Agreement
On October 16, 2026, members of the NENSC Expert Council and additional senior experts sent a letter to the leadership of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs urging Congress to support the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (“Section 123” agreement) between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Copies of the letter were shared with the full membership of both committees.
The signatories are former senior U.S. officials with decades of experience in nuclear security and nonproliferation. They conclude that the agreement satisfies all requirements of U.S. law, builds strong barriers against the diversion of civil nuclear technology to military use, and provides the basis for a multi-decade strategic relationship centered on energy security and nonproliferation.
Saudi Arabia plans to build a large fleet of nuclear power reactors over the next 20 to 25 years, with potential investment above $80 billion. If the United States does not conclude this agreement, other suppliers will be ready to step in, and none would demand the comprehensive controls the United States has secured. The letter makes the case on four points:
The “gold standard” is the exception, not the rule. Of the twenty-six Section 123 agreements the United States has concluded, only two contain a legally binding renunciation of enrichment. Demanding one here would risk driving Saudi Arabia toward competitors that impose no such requirement, diminishing U.S. influence in the region and in global civil nuclear energy.
Strong controls on the fuel cycle. Any potential enrichment cooperation requires a two-year joint study, and U.S. agreement is needed before transfer of enrichment technology or facilities could be recommended. Any transfer of sensitive enrichment technology would require a new agreement and a fresh congressional review.
Robust safeguards and verification. The agreement establishes an additional Bilateral Safeguards Agreement to be implemented by the IAEA, building on Saudi Arabia’s existing Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. U.S. consent and short-notice inspection rights also apply to future Saudi nuclear projects.
U.S. partnership is the best barrier to proliferation. The centrality of U.S. equipment and technology would embed American nonproliferation standards in Saudi Arabia’s civil nuclear sector for decades. The signatories also recommend continued encouragement for Saudi adoption of the IAEA Additional Protocol.
Signatories
NENSC Expert Council Members
Hon. John M. Deutch, Professor at MIT, former Director, Central Intelligence Agency and former Deputy Secretary of Defense
Hon. Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, CEO, Wolverine Global and former Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and former Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration
Mr. Kenneth N. Luongo, President, Partnership for Global Security and former Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy for Non-Proliferation Policy
Dr. Richard A. Meserve, President Emeritus of the Carnegie Institution for Science and former Chairman of the U.S. NRC
ADM (ret.) Richard Mies, Co-Chair of the Nuclear Energy and National Security Coalition and former Commander, U.S. Strategic Command
Hon. William Ostendorff, Professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, former Commissioner, U.S. NRC, and former Principal Deputy Administrator, U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration
Hon. Daniel B. Poneman, Co-Chair of the Nuclear Energy and National Security Coalition and former Deputy Secretary of Energy
Hon. Stephen G. Rademaker, Senior of Counsel at Covington & Burling LLP, and former Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, International Security and Nonproliferation
Mr. Jay A. Tilden, Executive Director of the Nuclear Energy and National Security Coalition and former Director, Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence at the Department of Energy
Additional Senior Expert Signatories
Dr. Matt Bowen, Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University and former Senior Advisor, Office of Nonproliferation and Arms Control at the Department of Energy
Hon. Thomas P. D’Agostino, former Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration
Hon. Franklin C. Miller, former Pentagon senior career policy official and Special Assistant to President George W. Bush
Mr. Richard Nephew, Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University and former Deputy Special Envoy for Iran
Mr. Paul J. Saunders, President and CEO of the Center for the National Interest
Organizational affiliations for signatories are for identification purposes only. Individuals are signing in their personal capacities.