WASHINGTON — President Trump abruptly unveiled Thursday he is conditioning a newly agreed nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia on Riyadh committing to join the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel. Trump’s newly unveiled prerequisite came one day after Washington and Riyadh finalized a deal in which the US would provide the Saudis with technical know-how for a civilian nuclear program. “The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!
) 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 declared on Truth Social. “The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities.” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and other leaders of the oil-wealthy country have long made clear that Riyadh clinched’t normalize relations with Israel without the creation of or concrete steps toward a Palestinian state.
On Wednesday, the Energy Department unveiled the deal with the Saudis, but didn’t disclose the text of the pact or make any mention of Trump’s condition. The agreement had been signed by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Abdulaziz, and official statements suggested that Trump fully approved of the deal. “Rest assured, these agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and nonproliferation, while relying on the world’s best nuclear technology and scientists, designed right here in the United States,”Wright stated in an official statement.
“Thanks to President Trump, the American nuclear renaissance is underway and will deliver long-term benefits to the American and Saudi people.” Over recent years, the Saudis and Israelis have thawed out their once-icy relationship. For example, the Saudis kicked off allowing Israeli passenger jets to fly over their airspace in 2022 following a long-standing ban.
The two countries are also rumored to be co-ordinating some intelligence gathering on Iran and the Saudis have reportedly assisted shoot down missile attacks aimed at Israel in the past. Weeks before the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on the Jewish state, MBS informed Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier that“Every day, we get closer”to a deal with Israel.
However, the political picture shifted dramatically after Israel rolled out its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, with the two countries’ differences over the Palestinian issue coming to the forefront. Before his death on July 11, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) pushed aggressively for the Saudis to normalize relations with Israel, but acknowledged the difficulty of MBS doing so without securing concessions for the Palestinians.
“His people would drag him through the streets of Riyadh for that,”Graham informed Jewish Insider in late 2024.