Trump ties Saudi nuclear deal to Israel normalization talks

President Donald Trump tied a newly announced U.S.-Saudi nuclear cooperation deal to Saudi normalization with Israel, putting a civilian energy agreement inside one of the Middle East’s hardest diplomatic fights. Saudi Arabia has refused to join the Abraham Accords, the 2020 framework that normalized Israel’s ties with several Arab states, but Trump said the pact would depend on Riyadh taking that step.

The agreement covers a civilian nuclear program, not a weapons program, yet it immediately sharpened concerns in Washington and Jerusalem about who could control the most sensitive parts of the fuel cycle. U.S. lawmakers would have 90 session days to prevent the deal from going into force, giving Congress a formal review window over an agreement that could shape U.S. policy toward both Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Saudi Arabia has long sought civilian nuclear development as part of its broader economic diversification drive and its push to expand energy options beyond oil. That ambition has also raised recurring U.S. proliferation concerns, especially the possibility that Riyadh could later seek uranium enrichment rights, a step that would raise the strategic value and risk profile of any nuclear accord.

Israeli officials and analysts see the issue through a regional security lens. A Saudi nuclear deal could reduce leverage over Riyadh at the very moment Washington has been pressing for Saudi-Israeli normalization, and Israeli observers have warned that access to sensitive nuclear technology could intensify fears of a Middle East arms race. Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has viewed Saudi normalization as a central diplomatic prize, making Trump’s linkage of the two issues especially consequential.

The political stakes extend beyond one bilateral pact. If Congress allows the deal to advance, the White House would be signaling that civil nuclear cooperation, regional deterrence and normalization diplomacy are now being negotiated together. If lawmakers block it, the result could strain U.S.-Saudi ties just as Washington tries to preserve influence over Saudi Arabia’s energy future and keep nuclear proliferation risks in check.