WASHINGTON (AA): The US Department of Energy has approved sixauthorizations for American companies trying to work to create a nuclearinfrastructure in Saudi Arabia, according to a report.
The Part 810s authorizations would allow US companies to share detailsabout their plans to work in Riyadh and information regarding nucleartechnology.
The companies began seeking contacts with Riyadh in November 2017,according to the Daily Beast.
A congressional source told the news agency American companies have anoption to request their authorizations remain private and do not land inthe department’s public reading room.
“The companies that received the Part 810s under the Trump administrationhave made such a request, according to that source,” the Daily Beast said.
In a report submitted last month by the House of Representatives OversightCommittee, the American firm IP3 developed a proposal to build dozens ofnuclear reactors across the Saudi kingdom. The committee said the planssubmitted by IP3 were not a business plan but “a scheme for these generalsto make some money,” since many former generals, diplomats and energyexperts were a part of the firm.
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Harvey, a senior director at the National Security Council, reportedlyignored warnings that the transfer of equipment needed to comply with theAtomic Energy Act, and said former National Security Adviser Michael Flynnhad already approved the nuclear transfer deal during the first week of USPresident Trump’s administration. Flynn served as an adviser to IP3,according to the congressional report.
On Wednesday, congressman Brad Sherman grilled Secretary Mike Pompeo aboutthe authorizations, saying they were being kept secret from the publicbecause they are related to the transfer of nuclear technology to Riyadh.
“If you cannot trust a regime with a bone saw, you should not trust themwith nuclear weapons,” Sherman said at the hearing, referring to SaudiArabia.
Pompeo said the State Department is still looking into the potentialassistance Saudi Arabia would receive, as well as how to prevent thekingdom from developing nuclear weapons. “We are working to ensure thenuclear power they get is something we understand,” Pompeo said in responseto Sherman’s questions.
