Scrambling to sell a nuclear Middle East

The leading international vendors of nuclear power reactors are competing hard to sell to the Middle East as markets dry up at home. Companies from France, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States, often tied to respective governments or backed by them, have been pursuing reactor deals in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, in some cases building on legacies left over from Cold War Atoms for Peace programs. Aggressive governmentbacked vendors and financing options to reduce the enormous up-front capital costs of modern reactors have combined with nuclear ambitions in some Middle East states to create a troubling momentum that threatens the hopes for well-being and peace in the region.