The president of the United States, Donald Trump, stated this Thursday that the agreement for Saudi Arabia to develop a nuclear program does not include “material enrichment” and depends on Riyadh adhering to the Abraham Accords to normalize relations with Israel.
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“The civil nuclear energy agreement (which will not include material enrichment!) being negotiated between the U.S. Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia, and which is limited exclusively to non-military uses, similar to those already held by Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries, will be approved, but is entirely conditioned on Saudi Arabia adhering to the highly respected and successful Abraham Accords,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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According to Trump, Washington “does not oppose civilian nuclear facilities (without enrichment).”
The pact signed the day before between both nations, which must be ratified by the U.S. Congress, comes in a context of tension with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s rival in the Middle East, and amid U.S. efforts to limit Tehran’s nuclear capabilities, which denies seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
The Trump Administration reported in a statement that the document, known as “Agreement 123,” has “peaceful purposes” and is committed to “nuclear non-proliferation.”
It also indicated that the agreement will give U.S. companies preferential access to the nuclear energy sector produced in Saudi Arabia, affected by Iranian attacks in response to the recent U.S. offensive against this country.
The normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, two regional powers allied with Washington but historically at odds, would represent a major shift in Middle East geopolitics, although Riyadh assures that it will only do so when there is a credible path for the establishment of a Palestinian State.
Trump suggested in May that a peace agreement with Tehran, whose negotiations are stalled amid the current escalation in the war, should include the adherence of several allies, mainly Saudi Arabia and Qatar, to the Abraham Accords, because they “owe” him that gesture.
The previous U.S. president, Democrat Joe Biden (2021-2025), actively sought Saudi adherence to the Abraham Accords, but negotiations broke down after the Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, and the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.
These pacts were promoted during Trump’s first term (2017-2021) and allowed the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
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