WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a new agreement reached with Saudi Arabia for a civilian nuclear program will require the kingdom to normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords.
In a post on social media, the Republican president said the deal doesn’t allow for enrichment of uranium. Nonproliferation experts have raised concerns that the deal fails to include guardrails to prevent enrichment of uranium to weapons-grade levels.
Trump's post said the agreement “will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.” He added that “The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities.”
The Saudis have made clear that normalizing relations with Israel would first require the establishment of a clear path for Palestinian statehood. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the idea of Palestinian statehood as being untenable for his country's security.
The Saudi Embassy in Washington on Thursday declined to comment on Trump's assertion that the deal will require the kingdom to join the accords.
Trump has sought to build on the 2020 agreements, which expanded the number of Middle East countries with diplomatic ties with Israel. Saudi Arabia is the most important Arab power in the Middle East, and Trump believes the kingdom joining the accords is critical to establishing long-term stability in the region.
The new nuclear deal announced Wednesday is expected to last 30 years and involve U.S. firms in the program’s development. It could allow for the building of a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia following a joint U.S.-Saudi study, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The agreement is to be submitted to Congress for review, according to the U.S. and Saudi governments.
The agreement does not include the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol, which would allow for more monitoring, inspections and verification, according to a second person familiar with the decision.
The oil-rich kingdom’s Energy Ministry on Wednesday said the agreement bolsters “efforts to diversify energy sources, advance cutting-edge technologies, and expand opportunities for cooperation and investment in ways that serve the mutual interests of the two friendly countries.”
Enrichment isn’t an automatic path to a nuclear weapon — a nation also must master other steps, including the use of synchronized high explosives, for instance. But it does open the door to weaponization, which has fueled concerns over Iran’s program.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Manila on Thursday that the agreement would make certain that Saudi Arabia works with American companies instead of "competitors" on building out its civil nuclear program. China, South Korea, France and Russia are among alternative partners that Riyadh could look to to build its civil nuclear program.
“We’re not the only show in town, but we’re the best show in town,” Rubio said. “We want to make sure that it’s our companies they’re picking.”
Trump has talked up his push to extend the Abraham Accords — the project that formalized commercial and diplomatic ties between Israel and a trio of Arab nations — as key to his plan for bringing long-term stability to the Middle East. But the aftermath of Israel's war in Gaza and the nearly 5-month-old U.S. and Israel war against Iran have complicated Trump's push to expand the accords.
Still, the Trump administration has made clear that it remains optimistic that an agreement with Saudi Arabia on joining the accords can be sealed by the end of Trump’s second term.