President Trump has submitted to Congress for review an agreement with Saudi Arabia aimed at bolstering the kingdom’s civilian nuclear program, but continues to insist that it won’t move forward if Saudi Arabia doesn’t normalise relations with Israel, according to a Trump administration official. U.S.
The agreement was signed last month in Washington by U.S. But the next day, Trump announced he was requiring the Saudis to normalise relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords as part of the pact, raising doubts that the agreement would come to fruition. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart. Neither the administration official nor the others familiar with the matter would comment on whether Mr. Trump’s call for the Saudis to join the accords is detailed in the classified document submitted for the congressional review.
The classified document was submitted to Capitol Hill on Monday (August 24) as required by the Atomic Energy Act, according to the administration official, a congressional aide, and two others familiar with the matter. Because they were not authorised to comment publicly on the classified matter, all four spoke on condition of anonymity.
Under law, Congress has 90 days while in session to review the agreement. The formal submission of the agreement to Congress for review was reported earlier on Tuesday (August 25) by the Wall Street Journal. Unless Congress passes a joint resolution rejecting the agreement during the review period, the agreement can take effect without a vote by either chamber. The Saudis, meanwhile, have made clear that normalising relations with Israel would first require the establishment of a clear path for Palestinian statehood. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the idea of Palestinian statehood as being untenable for his country’s security.
