Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US President Donald Trump. U.S. intelligence agencies believe Saudi Arabia is keeping the door open to building nuclear weapons someday, according to classified material shared with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The finding is stirring fresh worry among members of Congress who were already uneasy about a civilian nuclear deal President Donald Trump struck with the kingdom earlier this year. The Washington Post first reported details of the classified assessment, citing U.S. officials who described a troubling picture: Saudi Arabia has not taken the possibility of a weapons program off the table. That conclusion, delivered to Congress in classified form, has deepened anxiety among some lawmakers who worry the broader U.S.-Saudi nuclear cooperation agreement could end up giving Riyadh the tools it needs to build a bomb, and could set off a wider arms race across a region already prone to conflict. When the agreement was unveiled, the Energy Department said it would strengthen both American and regional security by holding Saudi Arabia to strict standards on safety, security and preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. Right now, Congress is in the middle of a 90-day window to review the agreement, during which lawmakers have the power to pass legislation blocking it if enough support comes together. Senators Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Jeff Merkley of Oregon are leading that charge. In a letter sent Friday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, they and other Democratic colleagues accused the administration of breaking from past practice, loosening restrictions and giving in to Saudi demands in a way that could ultimately clear the path for Riyadh to enrich uranium and potentially pursue nuclear weapons. The State Department stood by its position in a statement given to the publication, insisting the United States does not support and will not support a Saudi nuclear weapons program. The agreement, the department said, reflects a practical approach aimed at growing nuclear energy cooperation while sticking to the toughest nonproliferation standards that are realistically possible through diplomacy. That comment remains one of the central reasons the current debate over the nuclear deal has become so heated. Sagar is a journalist with an interest primarily in geopolitics and American domestic politics. Before joining Times Now, he wrote for Republic and Sw... View More