The US has been reconsidering its options to recalibrate its influence and power balance in West Asia after facing serious security credibility issues and Iran's rise, as Washington is at the losing end of the conflict with Tehran, according to a report.
However, the US now faces the question of the region's strategic autonomy spin and the stance that the Arab allies, particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE, will take, an India Narrative report said.
The US has been trying to play a brinkmanship card in West Asia as it recently signed a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that has sparked tensions in the region. The US seems to have taken the decision considering the rapidly evolving politics in West Asia, particularly amid the ongoing conflict between Tehran and Washington, it said.
The US government has approved the "123 Agreement" for civilian nuclear cooperation, which allows American companies to develop nuclear infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. The pact has strong economic value; however, it has also sparked concerns.
On July 22, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement, commonly known as a "123 agreement", alongside an accompanying bilateral safeguards agreement. Together, these two agreements lay the legal foundation for a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar partnership that advances several priority economic and strategic objectives, including nuclear nonproliferation, according to a statement released by the US Department of Energy.
The deal enables the possible domestic uranium enrichment in Saudi Arabia, considering the future joint US-Saudi Arabia review instead of Riyadh being required to permanently give up enrichment. In addition, the deal does not include the stringent monitoring of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which allows Saudi Arabia to implement the IAEA’s Additional Protocol for enhanced facility inspection, according to the India Narrative report.
"After being at the losing end of the war with Iran, the US is reconsidering its approaches to recalibrate its influence and power balance in the Middle East after facing serious security credibility issues and Iran’s rise. However, there is a much larger question that is bothering the US: the region’s strategic autonomy spin, which the US currently fears, and the pivoting mood of Arab allies, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE," Srijan Sharma, a national security analyst specialising in intelligence and security analysis, wrote in the report.
"Distrust in Arab allies is core damage to US influence that it cannot afford, especially in the current global order where alternative power and pivoting is a favoured strategy to cut dependencies and readjust to fulfil one’s national interests. The US has taken risks that even have dangerous precedents to secure allies’ trust, and now the US is again doing it by signing a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia," he added.
After the deal was signed, Wright said in the statement that these agreements reflect the shared commitment of the US and Saudi Arabia to strengthen commercial ties, delivering prosperity at home and security to allies abroad.
He further said, "Rest assured, these agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and nonproliferation, while relying on the world's best nuclear technology and scientists, designed right here in the United States. Thanks to President (Donald) Trump, the American nuclear renaissance is underway and will deliver long-term benefits to the American and Saudi people."
