Saudi nuclear program accelerates, raising tensions in a volatile region
On the outskirts of Riyadh, a building site is quickly being transformed into the birthplace of Saudi Arabia's quest for nuclear power, a bid that has sparked concern in the US Congress and fury in Tehran.
New satellite imagery shows that construction on an experimental reactor is making "expeditious" progress -- just three months after the Kingdom announced plans to build it, according to former director for nuclear inspections at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Robert Kelley.
Kelley estimated that the reactor could be completed in "nine months to a year."
The Kingdom has been open about its nuclear program with the IAEA, which sent a team to Saudi Arabia last July to check on building plans. It has repeatedly pledged that the program is peaceful. But Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said last year that "without a doubt if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible."
Also raising concern among industry experts and some in Congress is the Saudi insistence that it should be allowed to produce its own nuclear fuel, rather than import it under strict conditions.
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