Middle Eastern nations are rapidly revolutionizing their fuel cycles to focus on nuclear power, according to a new INSS report. The author contends that countries in the region prefer to use nuclear facilities in order to curb their long-term domestic energy costs. By using nuclear power, these countries can export fossil fuels, a commodity whose price continues to rise throughout the globe. Alongside complications such as the lack of technical experts and access to water, unique challenges in the Middle East focus primarily on the two ends of the fuel cycle- obtaining fissile materials and disposing them.
Notably, Iran uses the arguments contained in the article to justify its nuclear program by insisting that all nuclear material will be used for domestic energy. Therefore, obtaining the fissile material through centrifuge construction causes major concern by Israel and the international community because additional enrichment could produce military-grade uranium.
Alongside concerns regarding the fuel cycle, the author of the INSS report notes the dangers of having nuclear facilities within one’s borders. Due to instability in the region, nuclear facilities pose grave targets for terrorists or rival nations.
