Why Trump Tied Saudi Arabia’s Nuclear Future to Israel

This piece was originally published in The Free Press

On Wednesday evening, the media erupted when the Trump administration announced that it would be signing a 30-year nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia. Under the terms of the deal, the U.S. would export nuclear materials to the Saudis and support the development of a civilian nuclear power program, prompting alarming headlines about how this might pave the way for Saudi Arabia to pursue uranium enrichment—and potentially develop a nuclear weapon.

Then, on Thursday morning, President Donald Trump revealed that the deal was contingent on Saudi accession to the Abraham Accords. In other words, Saudi Arabia would have to establish diplomatic ties with the state of Israel—an objective long desired by the Trump administration—if it wanted access to U.S. technology and expanded security and economic cooperation.