US announces civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia
The United States and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday announced a landmark agreement to establish a civilian nuclear programme in the kingdom, with US President Donald Trump saying its implementation would depend on Riyadh normalising relations with Israel.
The announcement comes as the United States remains engaged in conflict with Iran, a war driven in part by concerns over Tehran's nuclear programme, which continues to be a central issue in stalled diplomatic efforts.
The agreement is expected to generate billions of dollars in business for US companies and is being viewed as a strategic victory for Saudi Arabia, a longstanding regional rival of Iran. However, critics warn it could heighten the risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.
Washington has long sought to link a civil nuclear agreement and broader security cooperation with Saudi Arabia to the kingdom's recognition of Israel. Hours after the deal was announced, Trump reiterated that condition.
"The nuclear deal will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords," he wrote on Truth Social.
Critics argue that the agreement, whose full text has not yet been released, could trigger a regional nuclear arms race.
The Wall Street Journal reported that one provision could allow US companies to build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia. However, the US Department of Energy neither confirmed nor denied the report, while Trump insisted in his social media post that "there will be no enrichment of material".
The agreement will be submitted to Congress for review, although the Republican-controlled legislature is not expected to block it.
US lawmakers from both parties, as well as Israeli officials, have previously expressed concern that a civilian nuclear programme could eventually enable Saudi Arabia to develop nuclear weapons.
"Trump claims his war on Iran is about stopping an authoritarian country from enriching nuclear fuel," US Senator Bernie Sanders wrote on X.
"Now he's letting his best friends in Saudi Arabia – one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world – do exactly that. This is absurd."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any civil nuclear agreement would include safeguards to ensure it could not be converted into a weapons programme.
"Any agreement that we're going to make with any country in the world on civil nuclear energy is going to be one that will have safeguards in place to ensure that it can't be turned into a weapons programme," Rubio said.
Saudi Arabia, like Iran, has long maintained that it has the right to pursue a civilian nuclear programme. Last year, the kingdom signed a mutual defence pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan.
Proliferation concerns
Policymakers have long feared that if Iran were to develop a nuclear weapon, it could trigger an arms race across the Gulf region.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright dismissed concerns over proliferation, saying the agreement serves both Washington's economic and strategic interests.
"These agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and non-proliferation, while relying on the world's best nuclear technology and scientists, designed right here in the United States," he said.
The United States currently has civilian nuclear cooperation agreements with more than 50 countries.
Experts said negotiations on the deal had been under way for some time, although some remained concerned about the possibility of uranium enrichment on Saudi soil.
"It would be a mistake to allow Saudi Arabia the capability for enrichment," said Matthew Kroenig of the Atlantic Council before the agreement was formally announced.
"Washington is right to strengthen its relationship with Riyadh, but it should not do so at the expense of its effective nuclear weapons non-proliferation standards."
Paul Dickman, chair of the American Nuclear Society's External Affairs Committee, said he did not believe the agreement would create additional proliferation risks but stressed the need for transparency.
"I would like to see within the language of this agreement how that transparency will be measured," he said.
Jennifer T. Gordon, director of the Atlantic Council's Nuclear Energy Policy Initiative, described the agreement as "a win for the United States over Russia and China".
"Saudi Arabia has made it clear that it will purchase nuclear energy technologies. The only question has been whether the kingdom would choose to work with the US and its allies, or whether it would turn to Russia or China," she said.