President Donald Trump has transmitted a historic 30-year civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress, making clear there will be no deal without full normalization with Israel, according to a Wall Street Journal report early Wednesday. Trump is using the ambitious energy project as leverage to pressure Riyadh into joining the Abraham Accords, amid US concerns over uranium enrichment on Saudi soil.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday afternoon that President Donald Trump has submitted a 30-year civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress, revealing the pact's duration and its inclusion of potential domestic uranium enrichment. The report confirms and expands upon earlier reporting that the deal's advancement is strictly conditional on full Saudi normalization with Israel, as The Zioneer first reported.
At 01:13 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that the Trump administration had transmitted the US-Saudi civilian nuclear pact to Congress, with President Trump stipulating that the deal would proceed only if Riyadh joins the Abraham Accords and recognizes Israel. That report was shortly confirmed by a US official speaking to Reuters, who formally acknowledged the submission and the condition. The initial reports, however, did not specify the agreement's term or enrichment provisions. The WSJ now adds that the pact is structured as a 30-year framework and includes the possibility of Saudi domestic uranium enrichment — a provision that has long raised concerns among US lawmakers and Israeli security officials over proliferation risks.
This development follows months of negotiation and speculation. As The Zioneer reported on July 22, the WSJ had earlier indicated that Trump had approved a civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could allow domestic enrichment, marking a major policy shift. On July 23, The Zioneer reported that the US had signed the 30-year civilian nuclear agreement, enabling enrichment on Saudi soil, though at the time the deal was not yet publicly tied to normalization. President Trump has consistently maintained that Saudi recognition of Israel is a prerequisite, as The Zioneer reported on July 24.
The White House has not issued an official statement on the submission. The agreement now faces review by Congress, where questions over enrichment safeguards and the normalization timeline are expected to dominate debate. It remains unclear whether Riyadh will accept the normalization condition as stated.
4 developments
- DevelopingUS-Saudi nuclear deal makes no mention of normalization with Israel, Reuters reports
- StrongTrump: Saudi Arabia must join Abraham Accords for civilian nuclear deal
- DevelopingTrump says Saudi Arabia will normalize ties with Israel 'at some point'
- DevelopingIsrael presses US to include Saudi normalization in civilian nuclear deal, report says
Source and signal
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