President Donald Trump on Thursday said an agreement being reached with Saudi Arabia for a civilian nuclear program requires the kingdom to normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords.
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement on civil nuclear power, letting the kingdom build nuclear reactors using U.S. technology, without requiring the snap UN inspections that Washington has previously demanded from Iran.
In a post on social media, the Republican president said the deal doesn’t allow for enrichment of uranium. Nonproliferation experts have raised concerns that the deal fails to include guardrails to prevent enrichment of uranium to weapons-grade levels.
Trump's post said the agreement “will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.” He added that “The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities.”
The Saudis have made clear that they won’t normalize relations with Israel until a pathway for Palestinian statehood is established, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear that's not in the offing.
Trump has sought to build on the 2020 agreements, which expanded the number of Arab states with diplomatic ties with Israel.
The deal is expected to last 30 years and involve U.S. firms in the program’s development. It could allow for the building of a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia following a joint U.S.-Saudi study
The agreement is expected to be submitted to Congress for review.