Trump approves Saudi nuclear deal, sparking arms race fears

The United States has approved a significant civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, permitting the kingdom to construct nuclear reactors with American technology and enrich uranium. This accord, finalized under President Donald Trump, allows for a multi-billion-dollar partnership that the U.S. Department of Energy states advances "priority economic and strategic objectives, including nuclear non-proliferation."

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These two agreements lay the legal foundation for a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar partnership that advances several priority economic and strategic objectives, including nuclear non-proliferation.

The agreement, which has been in development for years spanning both the Trump and Biden administrations, faced a hurdle when the Biden administration's desire for Saudi diplomatic recognition of Israel was abandoned following the October 7 Hamas attack. To secure the deal with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Trump reportedly agreed to terms that might limit international inspectors' access for snap inspections and potentially allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium or reprocess plutonium domestically.

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Clearly this is meant to signal Iran that the US is willing to basically allow its allies and partners in the region and the Gulf side to gain a nuclear capability … should it [Iran] choose to try and seek a nuclear weapons capability.

This stands in stark contrast to the 2009 U.S. deal with the United Arab Emirates, which required the UAE to forgo producing nuclear fuel permanently. Analysts, such as Mona Yacoubian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, suggest the deal signals to Iran that the U.S. is willing to permit its regional allies to gain nuclear capabilities. However, the controversial agreement raises concerns among experts, who warn it has the potential to ignite "a nuclear arms race in the Middle East" at a sensitive time for U.S.-Saudi relations.

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a nuclear arms race in the Middle East