President Donald Trump said Friday evening that he did not explicitly discuss the signing of the US-Saudi civilian nuclear agreement with the Energy Minister, according to a report by ynet. The statement follows his earlier remarks that no deal would be signed without Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords.
President Donald Trump clarified Friday evening that he did not explicitly discuss the US-Saudi civilian nuclear agreement with the Energy Minister, according to a report by ynet. The remark came after his earlier statement at 16:00, as reported by N12 and covered by The Zioneer, that no deal would be signed with Saudi Arabia without the kingdom joining the Abraham Accords.
At 16:00 Friday, Trump made two related statements: first, that any US civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia is conditional on normalization with Israel, and second, that he will not sign a deal unless Riyadh joins the Abraham Accords. Both reports were published at the same time. Earlier, on Wednesday Jul 22, Reuters reported that the US-Saudi civilian nuclear pact, set to be submitted to Congress, makes no mention of normalization with Israel. Later Friday at 20:08, The Zioneer reported that Trump was reportedly furious after the deal was announced without his knowledge, citing an Israeli media report.
As The Zioneer reported earlier this week, the deal's text does not include a normalization requirement, despite Trump's insistence on the linkage. The president's latest clarification appears to distance him from the specific energy portfolio discussions, reinforcing his public position while suggesting he was not directly involved in ministerial-level talks.
The White House has not commented on the ynet report. The identity of the Energy Minister was not specified in the report. It remains unclear whether the deal was signed without Trump's direct awareness of the details discussed with the Energy Ministry.
3 developments
- DevelopingWhite House says Netanyahu did not request Saudi Arabia join Abraham Accords, attributes idea to Trump
- DevelopingUS-Saudi nuclear deal makes no mention of normalization with Israel, Reuters reports
- DevelopingTrump reportedly furious after Saudi agreement announced without his knowledge
- ConfirmedUS Energy Secretary details economic rationale behind Saudi nuclear deal
Source and signal
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