Trump Confirms Potential Nuclear Deal With Saudi Arabia, But Conditions It To Historical Agreement With Israel
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President Donald Trump has conditioned a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia to the country normalizing relations with Israel.
“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. The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities,” Trump said in a social media post.
The Wall Street Journal detailed that the agreement is set to last 30 years and be worth tens of billions of dollars. It would involve U.S. companies in the development of the program and shut down foreign competitors.
However, before Trump’s publication, the outlet noted the agreement could face obstacles in Congress as it could pave the way for a new era of nuclear proliferation, especially considering that it is not expected to include the International Atomic Energy Agency’s additional protocol, which allows for enhanced monitoring, inspections and verification.
Elsewhere, the outlet cited nonproliferation experts claiming that the civilian program could potentially allow Saudi Arabia to develop a weapons one. The country’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, suggested he could make such a decision if Iran seeks an atomic bomb.
Saudi Arabia already has a mutual defense pact with Pakistan, which has a nuclear weapon. It happened after Israel targeted Hamas leaders in Qatar, with Pakistan’s defense minister saying the nuclear program “will be made available” to Riyadh if needed, in what was seen as a warning to Israel.
Trump’s publication could pour cold water on the deal, as Riyadh has made it clear that any normalization with Israel has to include a path to a Palestinian state, something that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has firmly rejected, saying it is not compatible with the country’s security. The Saudi Embassy in Washington declined to issue comments to the outlet about Trump’s publication.
