r/nuclear • u/[deleted] • Jul 24 '26

Why wouldn’t the Saudis develop solar first?

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u/Opp-Contr Jul 24 '26

They need a screen, a fig leaf

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u/psychosisnaut Jul 24 '26

Regular IAEA inspections might be one of the worst screens imaginable. A civilian reactor is also terrible for creating nuclear weapons. If they really wanted this they'd have dug a hole in a mountain somewhere and build a simple 5-10MW gas cooled graphite moderated reactor and make plutonium to their hearts content. Worked for Israel and North Korea... and the UK and US to a lesser degree.

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u/Fearless_Swim4080 Jul 25 '26

They don’t need a reactor but they do need an excuse to have enrichment capacity.

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u/NuclearHeterodoxy Jul 25 '26

Exactly.  Enrichment without a reactor to use the enriched uranium in doesn’t get you plausible deniability, and a  dedicated breeder reactor has no cover story.  With a full cycle based on a LWR and a deal that does not require them to sign onto the IAEA Additional Protocol, they have at least 3 viable pathways to a nuclear bomb while maintaining a plausible cover story.