KAU to get Kingdom’s 2nd nuclear-research facility

KAU to get Kingdom's 2nd nuclear-research facility Muhammad Humaidan | Arab News

JEDDAH: Jeddah's King Abdulaziz University (KAU) has just announced the construction of a new nuclear-research facility to be used to research nuclear power for peaceful purposes. The university council gave approval for the new center last week. This center would become the second nuclear-research institute after the Saudi Arabia Atomic Energy Research Institute at King Abdullah City for Science and Technology in Riyadh, which was established in 1988. Saudi Arabia, a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, has long supported the right of any country to develop nuclear technology for peaceful energy purposes. In particular, the Kingdom has supported Iran's right to develop nuclear research for peaceful purposes while also holding a strong stance against the spread of nuclear weapons in the region. In the current international debate about Iran's nuclear intentions, one of the Kingdom's concerns has been the inconsistency in focusing on what Iran might be planning while ignoring Israel's nuclear arsenal and even supporting Israel's unwillingness to admit that it has nuclear weapons.