Saudi Arabia
In a media interview in September 2023, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, expressed concern about ‘any country getting a nuclear weapon’, adding that if Iran were to get one ‘we will have to get one’.[1] He and other Saudi officials have made similar remarks in the past, while insisting that their country’s nuclear programme remains peaceful in nature. Thus, if Saudi Arabia were today a party to the TPNW, there would be issues of possible compliance related to the Treaty's prohibition on development of nuclear weapons, which would need to be addressed by a meeting of states parties.
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Of concern |
| Test | Compatible | |
| Possess or stockpile | Compatible | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compatible |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compatible |
| (d) | Use | Compatible |
| Threaten to use | Compatible | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compatible |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compatible |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compatible |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Abstained (2023) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | No |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1988) |
| Ratified the CTBT | No |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1972) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1996) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (13 Jan 2009) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Original) |
| Additional Protocol | No |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2023, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan Al Furhan Al-Saud, called on States to honour their ‘commitments under existing international treaties and laws in order to build a world free of nuclear weapons, especially in the Middle East’. Cooperation is needed ‘to prevent an arms race to acquire these destructive weapons’, he said.2
At the NPT Preparatory Committee meeting in August 2023, Saudi Arabia said that ‘achieving the goal of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons begins with the entire international community adopting the already existing treaties, agreements, and legal and ethical frameworks aimed at achieving a world free of nuclear weapons’.3 However, it did not mention the TPNW in its statements.
On the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2023, Saudi Arabia said: ‘International peace and security are not accomplished by owning nuclear weapons. Rather, they are accomplished by cooperation in order to achieve progress and development.’ It criticised Israel for failing to join the NPT and for refusing to support the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.4
Saudi Arabia announced at the IAEA’s General Conference in 2023 that it had decided to rescind its Small Quantities Protocol (SQP) and move to the implementation of a full-scope Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).5 Saudi Arabia’s SQP has long been a cause for concern as the country has been preparing to launch a nuclear power programme. At the time of writing, its original SQP was still operational.
Saudi Arabia voted in favour of adopting the TPNW at the UN Diplomatic Conference in 2017. After having voted in favour of the first annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the Treaty, Saudi Arabia abstained on the vote in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Recommendations
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Saudi Arabia should comply with its existing obligation under Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and pursue negotiations in good faith on nuclear disarmament.
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Saudi Arabia should urgently adhere to the TPNW. Until it is in a position to do so, it should welcome the TPNW as a valuable component in the global disarmament and non-proliferation architecture, work with the Treaty's states parties on practical steps towards disarmament, and attend the meetings of states parties as an observer.
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Saudi Arabia should conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol with the IAEA, and rescind its Small Quantities Protocol.
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Saudi Arabia should also adhere to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).