Trump: US-Saudi nuclear deal hinges on Riyadh normalizing ties with Israel - Amichai Stein, Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Amichai Stein, Jerusalem Post Staff

Prime Minister Netanyahu supported Saudi Arabia's potential joining of the Abraham Accords, saying it would be "a historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East."

 

US President Donald Trump, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and Elon Musk pose with others for a family picture during the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, November 19, 2025.

(photo credit: REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN)

A US-Saudi civil nuclear agreement would be approved only if Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords and accepts a ban on uranium enrichment, US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. 

Trump said Washington does not oppose civilian nuclear facilities that do not enrich nuclear material, comparing the proposed arrangement to existing agreements involving Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries.

Michael Ratney, a former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told The Jerusalem Post that he thinks President Trump was trying to manage the criticism that emerged after the agreement was announced.  

"The Saudi view of normalization hasn’t changed - it still requires a credible pathway to a Palestinian state, and this nuclear deal won’t change their thinking on that, so it’s not clear where this leaves us," he said.

The US Energy Department said on Wednesday that the US had reached a nuclear cooperation agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a vote at the plenum hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on July 16, 2026. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

"US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy His Royal Highness (HRH) Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement, commonly known as a 123 agreement, alongside an accompanying bilateral safeguards agreement," the US Energy Department announced in a post on X/Twitter.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement saying that "Saudi Arabia's joining of the Abraham Accords would be a historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East."

Deal reportedly does not include normalization with Israel

The Trump administration submitted to Congress a pact with Saudi Arabia to share nuclear power technology that does not include a plan for normalization with Israel or safeguards the US has long said would stop materials from being used in nuclear weapons programs, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The long-discussed US-Saudi nuclear pact was once envisioned as one part of a broad deal that could lead to recognition of Israel, but Saudi Arabia pulled back from the possibility during the Israel-Hamas war.

Amichai Stein, Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-903447

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