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Trump ties nuclear to accords
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a civil nuclear cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia is “totally subject” to Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords, writing on Truth Social that “The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!)” will be approved but only if Saudi Arabia normalizes relations with Israel.
“United States President Donald Trump has said that a civilian nuclear cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia is “totally subject” to the kingdom normalising relations with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords”
Al Jazeera reported that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters she did not believe Trump had spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since posting the condition, but said “if Riyadh does not join the Abraham Accords “the deal is off.”
NPR said the condition marked “a turn, a day after the administration announced the signing of the agreement without mentioning that precondition,” and quoted Steven Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations saying, “No one in Washington really knows how it's going to work.”
The Hill reported that Trump said the U.S.-Saudi nuclear agreement is contingent on Saudi Arabia normalizing Israel relations through the Abraham Accords, and noted that Energy Department Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed the agreement on Wednesday.
Congress, safeguards, and confusion
Al Jazeera said the deal will require approval from the U.S. Congress and cited U.S. media reports suggesting it could allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium domestically, while also quoting Trump’s denial: “There will be no enrichment of material!”
The Council on Foreign Relations said the fate of the deal is “unclear” and that “An official text of the agreement has not been released yet,” while noting that the reported terms involve looser conditions on nuclear proliferation compared to other U.S. nuclear technology deals.
NPR reported that the Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to NPR’s request for comment and that the administration says it will submit the deal to Congress, which has 90 days to review it.
NPR also quoted White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying, “This deal with Saudi Arabia, the energy deal, is contingent on this condition, as far as the president is concerned,” and said Congress can object but would need a two-thirds majority to override a likely presidential veto.
Israel’s concerns and regional stakes
The Council on Foreign Relations said opposition in Israel centers on worries that a Saudi deal could spur other countries to seek nuclear enrichment programs and a path to nuclear weapons, and it described Israel’s concerns that the agreement could include an enrichment facility that American companies would operate.
The Jerusalem Post framed the Abraham Accords as “a positive incentive” and argued that claims Saudi Arabia should have to normalize in order to receive civilian nuclear power would make Riyadh feel “US policy is linked solely to this issue of Israel and normalization.”
La Presse reported that critics focused on the prospect that Riyadh could enrich uranium and quoted Trump: “There will be no enrichment,” while also noting that the U.S. Energy Secretary did not comment when asked by AFP about a Wall Street Journal claim of an enrichment complex clause.
The Hill said Saudi Arabia has said normalizing relations with Israel would first require clear progress toward a Palestinian state, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed, and it quoted the Israeli prime minister’s office saying the “possibility to expand the circle of peace” has been created by “The joint American and Israeli military action against the genocidal regime in Tehran.”
