The
Trump administration has approved seven applications for U.S.
companies to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi
Arabia, the Energy Department said Thursday.
Energy
Secretary Rick Perry told the Senate Armed Services Committee that
the Energy Department has approved 37 nuclear applications since
January 2017, including nine in the Middle East.
Besides
the seven to Saudi Arabia, two were approved for Jordan. Perry said
in his testimony that six applications were approved to Saudi Arabia,
but a spokeswoman later said he misspoke.
Sen. Tim
Kaine, D-Va., asked Perry whether the applications were approved
after Oct. 2, when Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at the
Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Khashoggi, a Washington Post
columnist, lived in Virginia. Perry said he did not know the specific
date. “We sign a lot of papers,” he said. “I’ve got
a pretty good memory, but to remember every date that I sign a piece
of paper might be above my ability to recall.”
Lawmakers
from both parties have expressed concerns that Saudi Arabia could
develop nuclear weapons if the U.S. technology is transferred without
proper safeguards.
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