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US-Saudi civil nuclear deal hinges on Riyadh joining Abraham Accords, Trump stresses

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The US has reached a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, but its approval hinges on Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords and banning uranium enrichment.
  • Former President Donald Trump stated that the deal would only be approved under these conditions, comparing the proposed arrangement to existing agreements with other countries.
  • The US Energy Department confirmed the signing of a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement, though a reported pact submitted to Congress did not include normalization with Israel.

A US-Saudi civil nuclear agreement faces significant hurdles, with former President Donald Trump asserting that its approval is contingent on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords and agreeing to a ban on uranium enrichment. Trump emphasized that Washington does not object to civilian nuclear facilities that do not enrich nuclear material, drawing parallels to existing agreements with Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and other nations.

The US Energy Department announced that Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman had signed a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement, also known as a 123 agreement, along with a bilateral safeguards agreement. This development follows reports that a pact submitted by the Trump administration to Congress for sharing nuclear power technology did not initially include a plan for normalization with Israel.

US President Donald Trump said that a US-Saudi civil nuclear agreement would be approved only if Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords and accepts a ban on uranium enrichment

— Donald TrumpStatement on Truth Social account regarding the US-Saudi civil nuclear deal.

Saudi Arabia had previously stepped back from the possibility of normalization with Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war, complicating the broader potential deal that the nuclear pact was once envisioned to be a part of. The current conditions set by Trump suggest a renewed push to link regional normalization efforts with the advancement of civil nuclear cooperation.

US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy His Royal Highness (HRH) Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement, commonly known as a 123 agreement, alongside an accompanying bilateral safeguards agreement

— US Energy DepartmentAnnouncement on X/Twitter regarding the signing of the nuclear cooperation agreement.
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Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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