The agreement, expected to be announced on Wednesday, would run for 30 years and involve US companies in developing Saudi Arabia’s nuclear energy sector.

It could also lead to the construction of a uranium enrichment facility in the kingdom following a joint US-Saudi feasibility study.

The proposed agreement will now go to the US Congress for review, where it is likely to face scrutiny from lawmakers who fear that giving Saudi Arabia the ability to enrich uranium could increase the risk of nuclear proliferation and spark a regional arms race.

Saudi Arabia is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog that promotes the peaceful use of nuclear technology while ensuring countries do not divert their programmes towards developing nuclear weapons.

However, one source said the agreement is not expected to include the IAEA’s Additional Protocol, a tougher set of safeguards that allows for broader inspections and more extensive monitoring of nuclear facilities.

The move comes at a time when the US military is targeting Iranian sites, with Washington maintaining that the campaign is intended to stop Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is intended solely for peaceful purposes.

Neither the White House nor Saudi officials immediately commented on the reported agreement, which was first disclosed by The Wall Street Journal.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations sought to negotiate a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Riyadh that would allow the sharing of American nuclear technology.

Non-proliferation experts, however, have warned that granting Saudi Arabia uranium enrichment capability could eventually provide the technical foundation for a weapons programme.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has previously indicated that the kingdom would seek nuclear weapons if Iran were to develop one.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited Saudi Arabia last year, where he discussed expanding the kingdom’s civilian nuclear energy programme with Saudi officials.

Although uranium enrichment alone does not enable a country to build a nuclear weapon, it provides a critical component of the nuclear fuel cycle and has long been at the centre of international concerns over nuclear proliferation.

By contrast, the neighbouring United Arab Emirates developed its Barakah nuclear power plant under a US “123 Agreement” that explicitly renounced domestic uranium enrichment, a model widely regarded by non-proliferation experts as the benchmark for peaceful civilian nuclear cooperation.