Trump Says Saudi Nuclear Deal Subject to Forming Israel Ties
US President Donald Trump said a civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia would be contingent on the kingdom normalizing ties with Israel, throwing cold water on a landmark deal his administration finalized just a day earlier.
In a social media post Thursday, Trump also said there would be “no enrichment” of nuclear material. The pact would allow American companies to expand nuclear energy development in a long-coveted market, but it also raised concerns about a lack of guardrails that would prevent Riyadh from enriching uranium to weapons-grade.
Trump said that the agreement “will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords,” referring to his initiative to get Arab countries to formally recognize Israel.
“The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities,” the president said.
Trump’s fresh demand throws a wrench into the implementation of the agreement. Saudi Arabia has said it will not normalize ties until Israel accepts Palestinian statehood, something the Israeli government has ruled out.
The full text of the agreement between the Saudis and the US has not been made public, and a US Energy Department statement released Wednesday when the pact was finalized made no mention of Israel or the Abraham Accords.
Trump has been ramping up pressure on the kingdom and other countries in the region to join the Abraham Accords. The prospect of Israel agreeing to Palestinian statehood in the near future is remote, given renewed hostilities in the Middle East following Hamas’ attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.
The president’s new condition also mirrors the stance of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, who also sought to link the provision of nuclear technology to the Saudis with improved relations with Israel.
A key part of the Saudi nuclear agreement, worth tens of billions of dollars, allows American companies to build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia if a study, conducted jointly by the US and the Saudis, determines the move is necessary, according to the Wall Street Journal, which earlier reported on the matter.
The agreement is set to be submitted to Congress, which would need to muster a veto-proof majority to block the measure.
The timing of its finalization was surprising, given the US is engaged in active military conflict in Iran designed to destroy Tehran’s nuclear program and prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring an atomic weapon. Allowing the Saudis to proceed with its own civilian nuclear program alarmed nonproliferation experts worried that it could spark an arms race in the Middle East.
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