U.S. President Donald Trump stated that a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia is entirely contingent upon the kingdom normalizing relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords.
His comment, made on Thursday—a day after the deal was announced—added uncertainty to an already opaque agreement whose full details remain undisclosed.
In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump wrote that the deal “will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.”
Saudi Arabia has not yet responded. Accepting normalization with Israel under the accords would mark a significant shift for Riyadh, which has historically opposed such a move.
The statement followed a day after the U.S. Department of Energy announced that Washington and Riyadh had signed “a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement for a decades‑long, multi‑billion‑dollar partnership” and a “bilateral safeguard agreement” to launch a civilian nuclear program.
The agreement must still be approved by the U.S. Congress.
U.S. media reports have indicated that the pact could permit Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium domestically rather than importing fuel.
Such a provision would mark a major departure from Washington’s longstanding policy of refraining from sharing enrichment technology with countries that lack indigenous enrichment capabilities.
Trump, however, seemed to contradict those reports, writing without additional context: “There will be no enrichment of material!”
“The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non‑Enriched) Nuclear Facilities,” he added.
Uranium enrichment is not prohibited by the Treaty on the Non‑Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), to which both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are parties. While enrichment is essential for producing nuclear fuel, at higher levels it can also be used to manufacture weapons‑grade material.
Iran’s nuclear enrichment activities have been cited as a key justification for the ongoing U.S.–Israel conflict, which began on February 28. Tehran maintains it does not pursue nuclear weapons, framing enrichment rights as a sovereign matter.
Saudi Arabia has long pursued a civilian nuclear program as part of its strategy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Non‑proliferation advocates have sharply criticized the pact announced on Wednesday, warning that it could trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, especially if it permits domestic uranium enrichment.
Observers say it could incentivize Iran to pursue nuclear weapons. Israel has long been assessed to possess nuclear weapons, while the U.S. government maintains a policy of strategic ambiguity toward the ally.
Türkiye, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates each maintain civilian nuclear infrastructure to varying extents.
Unanswered Questions Mount
Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna said Trump’s latest statement on the Abraham Accords has deepened the uncertainty surrounding the deal.
“This does not appear to be part of the original agreement either,” he noted. “Consequently, many questions arise, and there will undoubtedly be many questions in Congress.”
Several Arab nations have agreed to normalize relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords, which began with the UAE and Bahrain in December 2020 during Trump’s first term.
This made them the first regional states to recognize Israel since Jordan in 1994. Morocco and Sudan have also signed the accords, though Sudan has not yet ratified the agreement.
Even though the accords remain in principle, Israel’s ties with the signatories have deteriorated amid its ongoing war in Gaza, which has been described as genocidal. Before the conflict, the agreements were widely criticized for bypassing the Palestinian question.
Both Trump and the administration of former President Joe Biden have long advocated for Saudi Arabia to join the accords.
