Jordan Reports Sufficient Uranium for Nuclear Effort

Jordan’s uranium holdings are sufficient to develop its planned nuclear energy program, the country’s energy chief said Saturday (see GSN, April 4).

Khaled al-Shraydeh said Jordan has about 80,000 tons of uranium, while another 100,000 tons are contained within phosphate reserves, the Associated Press reported.

Producing necessary legislation and personnel are two potential roadblocks to Jordan’s nuclear effort, al-Shraydeh told the official Petra news agency.

Amman is looking to expand its energy sources, and has pledged that the nuclear program would have no weapons component.  There are questions on whether Jordan, and other Middle Eastern nations looking to develop nuclear facilities, possess adequate resources for such programs, AP reported (Associated Press I/Khaleej Times, May 5).

Meanwhile, NATO is helping Kuwait determine its level of preparedness for a nuclear emergency, AP reported.  Officials from the alliance and the Kuwaiti government met yesterday in Kuwait City.

NATO experts are expected during a workshop to provide some advice regarding Kuwaiti contingency plans, and to submit more in-depth reports at a later date on possible improvements.

There is concern in Kuwait regarding possible mishaps at the nuclear program in nearby Iran, along with the possible fallout of the standoff between Tehran and the United Nations.

“We hope for joint exercises with (NATO) to raise the efficiency of our plans for dealing with radiation to the standard … of the member states of the alliance,” Sheik Thamer Al Ali Al Sabah, deputy chief of the National Security Agency, told the Kuwait News Agency (Associated Press II/International Herald Tribune, May 6).

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