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White House denies Netanyahu sought to condition Saudi nuclear deal on Israel ties
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Energy & Infrastructure

White House denies Netanyahu sought to condition Saudi nuclear deal on Israel ties

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • The White House denied that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked President Trump to condition a nuclear pact with Saudi Arabia on normalization with Israel.
  • President Trump stated the nuclear deal with Riyadh is still being negotiated and is contingent on Saudi Arabia establishing diplomatic ties with Israel.
  • The U.S. is continuing dialogue with Saudi Arabia to finalize the nuclear agreement and encourage their adherence to the Abraham Accords.

The White House has denied reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged President Donald Trump to make a nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia conditional on Riyadh normalizing relations with Israel. The denial comes amid ongoing negotiations for a potential U.S.-Saudi nuclear pact.

Not that I'm aware of.

— Karoline LeavittResponding to a question about whether Netanyahu asked Trump to condition the nuclear pact on normalization with Israel.

While the U.S. announced a preliminary deal for Saudi Arabia's nuclear program, Trump indicated that details are still being finalized. He emphasized that the agreement will not permit uranium enrichment and will be entirely dependent on Saudi Arabia establishing diplomatic ties with Israel. This stance aligns with Trump's repeated public statements on the matter.

The president is always the one who makes the final decision on agreements, and this is a point he has mentioned on numerous occasions.

— Karoline LeavittEmphasizing President Trump's ultimate authority over the nuclear deal.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated she was unaware of any such request from Netanyahu to Trump. Leavitt reiterated that the President makes the final decisions on such agreements and has consistently said the pact would be off if Saudi Arabia does not join the Abraham Accords. Netanyahu has previously described normalization with Saudi Arabia as a historic step toward peace in the Middle East.

He has stated that if (Saudi Arabia) does not adhere to the Abraham Accords, the pact is discarded.

— Karoline LeavittReiterating the conditionality of the nuclear deal on Saudi Arabia's normalization with Israel.

The U.S. is continuing discussions with Saudi counterparts to finalize the agreement and hopes for their swift adherence to the Abraham Accords. The potential deal requires U.S. Congressional ratification and occurs amidst regional tensions with Iran, Saudi Arabia's rival. Normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, both U.S. allies, would significantly reshape Middle East geopolitics, though Saudi Arabia maintains it will only do so with a credible path toward a Palestinian state.

We will continue to dialogue with our Saudi counterparts to finalize the agreement and, hopefully, see them adhere to the Abraham Accords very soon.

— Karoline LeavittDescribing the ongoing diplomatic efforts to secure the agreement.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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