The United States has signed a civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, a move being presented as an energy partnership but one that is raising serious strategic questions across West Asia. While Washington says the deal supports Saudi Arabia's civilian nuclear ambitions, critics warn it could reshape the regional balance of power.

The agreement has sparked concerns in Israel over nuclear proliferation, while questions remain about uranium enrichment restrictions, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) oversight, and whether the deal is linked to Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords.

US-Saudi Nuclear Deal Sparks Fears of Middle East Nuclear Arms Race | Israel, Iran on Edge

When the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a group whose founders included Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein, reset its famous Doomsday Clock earlier this year, it issued a dark warning: “Ominous trends continue to point the world towards global catastrophe.

In an unstable world, a new nuclear arms race without constraints

The arms race in Asia is intensifying. Here is a list of defence systems several Asian countries are looking to acquire.

Why is the arms race intensifying in Asia?

North Korea has warned that the United States' "double-dealing attitude" toward its recent security pact with Australia and the United Kingdom might "start a chain of nuclear weapons races" in the Indo-Pacific.

Aukus could trigger a 'nuclear arms race': North Korea

After he says US 'must greatly strengthen... nuclear capability', Americans left baffled by mixed message he is sending Russia

But what did Trump mean?