Trump links Saudi nuclear deal to Israel recognition

US President Donald Trump has formally submitted a proposed civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi

US President Donald Trump has formally submitted a proposed civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress, while maintaining that the pact will not take effect unless Riyadh agrees to normalise relations with Israel.

The agreement, reached in July, would allow US companies to provide Saudi Arabia with civilian nuclear technology. A US administration official confirmed that the deal was sent to Congress on Monday.

Under the proposed arrangement, Congress has 90 session days to review the agreement. Congressional sources said the pact was sent to congressional leaders and is expected to be referred to relevant committees.

Trump’s administration has made Saudi Arabia’s entry into the Abraham Accords a condition for the nuclear agreement to become effective. The accords were brokered by Washington and established diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

The issue of Saudi-Israeli normalisation has remained complicated. Riyadh has said it wants an irreversible path toward the establishment of a Palestinian state before it recognises Israel.

Efforts to reach a broader agreement gained momentum during the Biden administration, but Israel’s war in Gaza, which began in October 2023, significantly changed the regional political landscape.

The proposed nuclear partnership is expected to span 30 years and includes plans for the construction of AP1000 nuclear reactors. The project could be worth tens of billions of dollars and potentially provide major business opportunities for Westinghouse.

The agreement has also attracted criticism from some Democratic lawmakers and nuclear nonproliferation advocates. They have raised concerns that the pact does not explicitly prevent Saudi Arabia from enriching uranium or reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, activities that can potentially be used to develop nuclear weapons.

The United Arab Emirates accepted similar restrictions in its 2009 nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States, a model often described as the “gold standard” for nuclear nonproliferation.

The Trump administration, however, has maintained that the Saudi agreement contains the nonproliferation safeguards required under US law.

If Congress does not object within the 90-session-day review period, the agreement can take effect. If lawmakers reject it, Trump could veto the decision, although Congress would need a two-thirds majority to override such a veto.