[Anchor]

The United States and Saudi Arabia have signed a nuclear agreement. While the U.S. demands that Iran completely dismantle its nuclear program, it is observed to have paved the way for Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium, sparking criticism of double standards.

Reporter Kim Yong-tae has the details.

[Reporter]

It has been reported that the United States notified Israel that it would strike "Gokkungi Mountain," suspected to be an underground nuclear facility in central Iran, within days.

Iran warned that the U.S. is attempting to destroy peaceful nuclear facilities and that if it does so, it will strike all U.S. assets in the Middle East.

As tensions escalate over the most sensitive nuclear facilities, the U.S. announced that it has signed a peaceful nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia.

Methods are being discussed in which U.S. companies build nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia and transfer technology while monopolizing profits, and U.S. media outlets reported that the agreement includes allowing Saudi Arabia to enrich or reprocess uranium.

This effectively opens the path to producing weapons-grade nuclear material. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stated back in 2018 that if Iran develops nuclear weapons, Saudi Arabia would follow suit.

Critics point out that the U.S., which has been waging a war with Iran for five months under the pretext of preventing nuclear weapon development, has granted an exception only to Saudi Arabia.

[John Garamendi / U.S. Democratic Representative : We need to go in the opposite direction. Wasn't the reason Trump attacked Iran in the first place to stop the development of nuclear weapons?]

Discontent is also being detected in Israel.

[Nic Robertson / CNN International Diplomatic Editor : From Israel's perspective, the prospect of having another neighboring country with the potential to possess nuclear weapons would be burdensome.]

Some interpretations suggest this move is intended to appease Saudi Arabia, which has been dissatisfied with the Iran war due to blocked oil export routes, and to keep China and Russia—which seek to enter the Saudi nuclear power market—in check.

[Video Editing: Lee Seung-yeol, Design: Chang Chae-woo]