Trump says Saudi nuclear pact hinges on kingdom joining Abraham Accords - Al Jazeera

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that US President Donald Trump said a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia depends on Riyadh normalising relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords. Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday, one day after the agreement was announced, that approval of the pact is contingent on Saudi Arabia joining the accords. Saudi Arabia had not immediately responded, according to the report.

The statement added uncertainty to a deal whose full terms have not been made public. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters she did not believe Trump had spoken with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since the post, but said the president had raised the issue previously and that the deal would not proceed if Saudi Arabia did not join the accords. The US Department of Energy had described the agreement as a long-term, multibillion-dollar peaceful nuclear partnership, alongside a bilateral safeguards arrangement. Congressional approval is required.

A central unresolved issue is whether Saudi Arabia would be allowed to enrich uranium domestically. Al Jazeera notes that some US media reports suggested the pact could permit enrichment, while Trump wrote that there would be “no enrichment of material.” Allowing enrichment would mark a significant shift from Washington’s usual approach to overseas civilian nuclear cooperation and has drawn concern from non-proliferation advocates and some lawmakers.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was aware of the US-Saudi plan but had not yet received a request to oversee verification. The broader context is politically sensitive: Riyadh has long resisted normalisation with Israel, while Washington has sought for years to bring Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords, which already include several Arab states.