The planned U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear agreement will not require Riyadh to sign the IAEA’s Additional Protocol, which gives the U.N. nuclear watchdog broad inspection powers. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said Saudi Arabia is instead preparing measures that would go beyond its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and provide additional verification and monitoring for uranium enrichment, uranium conversion and reprocessing. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia reached a civil nuclear cooperation agreement in July that would allow Riyadh to enrich uranium and build reactors using U.S. technology. Non-proliferation groups, including the Arms Control Association, have criticised the planned 123 agreement for excluding the Additional Protocol. Grossi said the protocol would be the ideal setup, but described the proposed provisions as very similar in some areas. Once finalised, the bilateral agreement between the IAEA and Saudi Arabia will be submitted to the agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors.