US President Donald Trump has reached a 30-year civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, according to US reports. The deal permits Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium on its own soil, with US companies playing a central role in developing the nuclear infrastructure. US administration sources said the American involvement will prevent the kingdom from diverting enrichment to military purposes.
President Donald Trump has finalized a 30-year civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that explicitly permits uranium enrichment on Saudi soil, US reports confirmed Wednesday morning. The deal, which gives US companies a central role in building the nuclear infrastructure, was announced after a series of reports that began at 05:16 Jerusalem. This latest update confirms the terms reported earlier and adds the explicit 30-year duration and enrichment permission.
The story unfolded rapidly. At 05:16 Jerusalem, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had approved the deal. At 05:32, The Zioneer cited senior US officials expecting a 'black box' mechanism to prevent a Saudi weapons program. At 05:56, the New York Times reported that Trump had separated the civilian nuclear deal from the requirement that Saudi Arabia recognize Israel. At 06:38, The Zioneer reported that the agreement includes enrichment on Saudi soil, and at 06:56, that Trump had signed approval for US companies to build reactors. The current update confirms the deal is for 30 years and explicitly permits domestic enrichment.
The agreement marks a strategic shift, as the Trump administration has dropped the condition of normalization with Israel, which the Biden administration had pursued. The deal, if finalized, could allow Saudi Arabia to become a nuclear-capable state under a civilian framework, with US oversight. As The Zioneer reported on July 19, a draft agreement may have allowed Saudi enrichment without full international safeguards.
Details of the safeguards and the exact timeline for enrichment remain to be clarified. The 'black box' mechanism mentioned by US officials has not been publicly detailed, and the role of Congress—which can block the deal only with a two-thirds majority—has not been tested.
7 developments
- StrongTrump approves Saudi nuclear deal allowing uranium enrichment, sends to Congress
- DevelopingDraft US-Saudi agreement may allow Saudi uranium enrichment without full international safeguards
- DevelopingAnalyst: Trump-Saudi nuclear deal, if confirmed, is a 'severe blow' to Israel without full normalization
- StrongTrump reportedly approves low-level uranium enrichment in Iran, drawing Israeli disappointment
Source and signal
- Internal intake