U.S. and U.A.E. to Sign Nuclear-Cooperation Pact

By JAY SOLOMON
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration plans to sign a nuclear-cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, according to officials involved in the negotiations, despite concerns in Congress.
The pact, one of the administration's final foreign-policy acts, could help the U.A.E. become the first Arab nation to develop a nuclear-power industry as early as 2017, said these officials. The Bush administration has championed the agreement as a model for promoting peaceful nuclear energy, while guarding against weapons proliferation.

Still, some U.S. lawmakers are seeking to block the U.A.E. deal over fears it could fuel a nuclear-arms race in the Middle East at a time of mounting concerns over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has introduced legislation seeking to hold up the nuclear-cooperation accord until the U.A.E. provides guarantees that it is assisting U.S. efforts to combat Iran. The U.A.E. is among Iran's closest trading partners, and the Emirates have served in the past as a major conduit for military technologies entering into Iran, according to U.S. officials.
"The United States should not even consider a nuclear-cooperation agreement with the U.A.E. so long as that country continues to complicate international efforts to halt Iran's" nuclear ambitions, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen said.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to sign the nuclear pact along with her Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Abdallah Bin Zayid Al Nahyan, at a State Department ceremony Thursday afternoon.
To become law, the treaty needs to be presented to Congress, though not necessarily voted on. President George W. Bush won't introduce the treaty before leaving office, according to U.S. officials, and will leave a decision on the matter to President-elect Barack Obama. Mr. Obama's transition team has yet to take a position on the deal. A spokeswoman for the Obama transition team declined to comment.
The U.A.E. has agreed to give the International Atomic Energy Agency complete access to the Emirates' nuclear sites and the right to conduct snap inspections. It has also pledged to import nuclear fuels for its reactors, rather than developing the technology to produce fissile material on its own. Developing the entire nuclear-fuel cycle could allow countries to divert nuclear materials for military purposes, U.S. officials argue.
U.S. officials say these safeguards put the U.A.E.'s nuclear program in stark contrast to Iran's. The Bush administration had hoped to sign the accord in November, but U.A.E. officials decided to delay over uncertainties about Mr. Obama's position and possible negative reactions in Congress, according to officials involved in the diplomacy.
Write to Jay Solomon at jay.solomon@wsj.com