US President Donald Trump has declared that the United States will not move forward with a proposed civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia unless the kingdom agrees to normalise diplomatic relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords.
The new condition comes just days after the US Department of Energy announced that Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman had signed a framework agreement to develop Saudi Arabia's first commercial nuclear reactors, with the proposal now awaiting review by the US Congress.
Reuters cited Trump saying that the requirement had always been understood by both Washington and Riyadh, despite not being included in Wednesday's announcement.
“In order to do it, they have to be a member of the Abraham Accords,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday.
He added that although he had not discussed the issue with Wright before the agreement was signed, “it was always understood, and Chris knew, and Saudi Arabia knew.”
Trump first pursued a civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia during his first term in office. His successor, former president Joe Biden, also sought to advance a similar deal, linking it to Saudi recognition of Israel through the Abraham Accords.
Saudi Arabia, however, has consistently maintained that it will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without an irreversible pathway towards the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Riyadh has not publicly responded to Trump's latest remarks or the additional condition attached to the proposed nuclear cooperation.
Despite the apparent obstacle, Trump expressed confidence that an agreement would eventually be reached.
“At some point they'll join ... and they'll do their civil, to echo it, civil nuclear,” he said.
A US-Saudi civil nuclear agreement is expected to benefit Westinghouse, the American nuclear technology company jointly owned by Canada's Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management, should the deal ultimately proceed. - July 25, 2026
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