– Giordania, scoperti di recente giacimenti di minerali di uranio, per oltre 100mila tonnellate.
– La Giordania, che dipende dall’export per circa il 96% del suo fabbisogno di petrolio e ha forti carenze di acqua potabile, intende utilizzare l’uranio per reattori nucleari e per impianti di desalinizzazione dell’acqua marina.
– Mentre l’accelerazione della produzione di combustibile nucleare in Iran fa temere la corsa all’arma nucleare in MO,
o starebbe per concludersi il negoziato Giordania-Usa per la cooperazione sul nucleare civile:
o in base ad esso le società americane forniranno equipaggiamento, combustibile ed expertise alla Giordania, secondo paese arabo ad aver sottoscritto un accordo di pace con Israele.
o Condizione vincolante del patto la rinuncia ad arricchire l’uranio e a costruire l’arma nucleare; l’accordo richiede l’approvazione del Congresso americano.
o Se giungerà a buon fine la Giordania sarà, dopo gli Emirati Arabi Uniti (EAU), il secondo paese arabo in meno di un anno a ottenere l’assistenza americane per il nucleare.
o Anche il patto degli EAU con gli USA, modello di quello con la Giordania, impone la rinuncia ad arricchire l’uranio sul proprio territorio, e prevede la possibilità di essere rinegoziato se un atro paese mediorientale ottenesse un accordo di cooperazione nucleare più favorevole.
– Oltre a quello in corso con gli USA, il governo giordano ha di recente siglato accordi di cooperazione per il nucleare, o aperto negoziati, anche con Francia, Canada, Cina, Sud Corea e Giappone.
o Nel 2008, la Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (L’Ente/Commissione per l’Energia Atomica Giordana) ha formato una joint venture con la francese Areva SA per l’estrazione dell’uranio.
Un consorzio sud-coreano ha di recente siglato un contratto con il governo giordano per la costruzione di un reattore per la ricerca (valore circa $200MD).
Jordan and U.S. Move Closer to Nuclear Pact
Washington Seeks Civilian-Cooperation Deal, With Limits, as Prospect of Mideast Arms Race Looms
– Jordan is in advanced talks with the Obama administration to conclude a civilian nuclear-cooperation agreement with the U.S., according to Jordanian and U.S. officials.
– Successful completion of the negotiations would make Jordan the second Arab state in less than a year, following the United Arab Emirates, to secure nuclear assistance from Washington. Any pact would constitute an international treaty and need the approval of Congress.
– The talks come as Iran is accelerating its production of nuclear fuel, raising the prospect of an expanding nuclear-arms race in the Middle East.
– An accord with King Abdullah II’s government in Amman would allow U.S. firms to transfer nuclear equipment, fuel and expertise to Jordan, which is one of only two Arab countries to have signed a peace agreement with Israel.
– President Barack Obama has pledged to assist developing nations in pursuing civilian nuclear-power programs in exchange for guarantees they won’t seek to produce atomic bombs.
– U.S. officials cite the cooperation agreement signed with the U.A.E. last year as a model for the peaceful development of nuclear power. Under the deal, Abu Dhabi provided assurances it won’t seek to enrich uranium on its soil. The technologies required to process uranium ore into nuclear fuel also can be used to produce weapons-grade materials.
A potential stumbling block in the Jordan-U.S. deliberations, according to participants, is whether Amman will follow the U.A.E.’s lead and provide guarantees that it won’t enrich uranium domestically.
– The U.A.E., under the terms of its pact with Washington, could demand a renegotiation if another Middle Eastern country secures a nuclear-cooperation agreement with the U.S. under terms more favorable than Abu Dhabi’s.
Jordan’s agreement could face hurdles in Congress if Amman doesn’t approve a zero-enrichment clause. "If Jordan wants to enrich … then the U.A.E. would also have the right to renegotiate," said a congressional aide working on nuclear issues. "This situation threatens to touch off a lot of regional tension, and we would oppose."
– Jordanian officials have stressed publicly the peaceful nature of their nuclear program and said Amman is willing to ship its substantial uranium-ore deposits to third countries for processing into nuclear fuels. Jordan is also coordinating closely with the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to put security safeguards in place.
– Still, Jordan is wary of cutting a deal with the U.S. that would surrender its rights to enrich under terms of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Like other Middle Eastern countries, Jordan doesn’t want to undermine a pre-existing multilateral treaty.
"We’re confident we can complete the agreement in the near term," said Jordan’s ambassador to Washington, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein.
– Jordan sought to complete the nuclear-cooperation agreement with the Bush administration in 2008, but ran out of time, according to officials involved in the talks. The Obama administration called for a renegotiation of the pact to insert assurances outlined in the U.A.E.’s deal.
The State Department’s top official on nonproliferation issues, Undersecretary Ellen Tauscher, visited Amman in December to discuss the agreement, U.S. and Jordanian officials said. Jordanian negotiators are expected in Washington in the coming months to resume the discussions.
A spokesman for Ms. Tauscher declined to discuss the status of the talks Tuesday. "We continue to work with our Jordanian colleagues to conclude an…agreement," the official said.
– King Abdullah announced in 2007 a program to develop nuclear technologies as a means to secure Jordan’s energy independence. Jordan imports virtually all of its petroleum supplies from neighboring Arab states, and the country is facing severe water shortages.
– Jordan also has a rapidly growing population that has been swollen by an influx of Iraqi refugees since the U.S.’s 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein.
– Amman is hoping to use its vast supplies of recently discovered uranium ore to fuel a clutch of nuclear reactors by the end of this decade. Jordan’s government also seeks to use the uranium to power desalination plants that can produce potable water from the sea.
– "Jordan is 96% dependent on importing petroleum," said Prince Zeid. "Our uranium assets give us the hope that we won’t be entirely energy dependent on other nations in the future."
– In recent months, the Jordanian government has signed nuclear-cooperation agreements or had extensive discussions with a string of countries in addition to the U.S., such as France, Canada, China, South Korea and Japan.
Amman says it also seeks cooperation with Washington to bring transparency, safety and higher technologies to its program.
– The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission formed a joint-venture with France’s Areva SA in 2008 to mine Jordan’s uranium-ore deposits, which are estimated to exceed 100,000 tons.
A South Korean consortium headed by the Korea Electric Power Corp. also recently signed a contract with Jordan’s government worth nearly $200 million to build a research reactor, according to Jordanian officials.