President Donald Trump said Thursday that a planned civilian nuclear agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia will move forward only if Riyadh joins the Abraham Accords and normalizes relations with Israel.
Trump said the agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia concerns only peaceful nuclear use and will not include uranium enrichment.
(Photo: Maayan Toaf/GPO, Saul Loeb/AFP, Getty Images)
“The Civil Nuclear Deal being made between the United States Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia, which 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 wrote.
“The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities,” he added.
The statement marks a shift from previous discussions surrounding a potential US-Saudi nuclear agreement, which had raised concerns in Israel over whether Riyadh could gain access to uranium enrichment technology.
Trump emphasized that the program would be limited to civilian purposes and compared it to nuclear facilities already operating in countries including the United Arab Emirates.
The Abraham Accords, brokered during Trump’s first term, led to normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries, including the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco.
Saudi Arabia has long been viewed by Washington and Jerusalem as a potential candidate to join the agreements, but talks have been complicated by Riyadh’s demands regarding security guarantees, nuclear cooperation and the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Trump’s announcement came after months of negotiations over a broader US-Saudi package, which included economic cooperation, security ties and nuclear energy development.
The Saudi nuclear issue has been closely watched in Israel, where officials have expressed concern that allowing uranium enrichment capabilities in Saudi Arabia could contribute to a regional nuclear race.
Trump’s latest statement appeared to rule out such a possibility by explicitly stating that the agreement would not permit enrichment.
The White House and Saudi officials have not yet announced additional details regarding the timeline of the agreement or the specific conditions Riyadh would need to meet to join the Abraham Accords.