Trump adds Israel strings to Saudi nuclear deal, throwing pact into uncertain terrain
President Trump has linked a civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia to the kingdom's normalization of relations with Israel via the Abraham Accords. This new condition adds significant geopolitical complexity to the previously announced nuclear agreement.
Why it matters
The move attempts to leverage nuclear cooperation to force a major shift in Middle Eastern diplomatic alliances, creating uncertainty for the deal's future.
US President Donald Trump has abruptly raised the diplomatic stakes on his administration's landmark civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, declaring the pact will proceed only if Riyadh joins the Abraham Accords and normalizes relations with Israel, a condition that was not publicly articulated when the agreement was unveiled a day earlier.In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump sought to reassure critics that the agreement would not enable Saudi Arabia to develop nuclear weapons while simultaneously using the deal to revive his signature Middle East diplomatic initiative."The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!) being made between the Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia...
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in