In a surprise shift announced Thursday, former U.S. President Donald Trump has revised his stance on the landmark U.S.-Saudi Arabia civil nuclear cooperation deal, stating that final approval of the agreement will only move forward if Riyadh agrees to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords.
Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump clarified the parameters of the proposed deal, emphasizing that the agreement would strictly limit Saudi Arabia’s nuclear activities to civilian non-military applications, barring any uranium enrichment capabilities. “The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!)… pertains only to non-military use such as the ones that Iran and UAE (and others) already have, will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords,” Trump posted. He added that Washington does not oppose the development of civilian, non-enrichment nuclear facilities in the kingdom.
The framework for this nuclear partnership was officially unveiled by the U.S. Department of Energy just one day before Trump’s announcement, with the agency describing the 10-year agreement as a cornerstone for long-term bilateral cooperation between Washington and Riyadh. According to the DOE’s statement, the deal is designed to lay the groundwork for a multi-billion-dollar long-term partnership that advances core U.S. economic and strategic priorities, including global nuclear nonproliferation goals. Under U.S. law, the agreement now heads to Congress for a 90-session-day review period, during which lawmakers have the authority to block the deal from taking effect.
The agreement paves the way for Saudi Arabia to construct civilian nuclear power reactors using U.S. nuclear technology, a development that has already sparked fierce opposition from Israel and pro-Israel advocacy groups operating in the United States. Earlier unconfirmed reports had suggested the deal could allow Saudi Arabia to conduct domestic uranium enrichment without committing to the strict rapid inspection protocols that Washington has long demanded of Iran’s nuclear program. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously pushed back against these concerns, affirming that any nuclear agreement with Riyadh would not contribute to the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia has for months maintained a firm position on Israeli normalization, stating publicly that it will not establish full formal relations with Israel without a binding, credible roadmap that leads to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. This requirement puts Riyadh directly at odds with the condition Trump has now attached to the nuclear deal, creating a new point of tension in the complex trilateral dynamic between the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Israel.