US President Donald Trump has approved an agreement with Saudi Arabia which would allow the kingdom to develop its own civilian nuclear programme.
Details
This deal, which was first talked about in 2023, is expected to be formalised soon. As per reports, the US-Saudi deal is estimated to last for around 30 years and is worth tens of billions of dollars.
President Trump greenlit the agreement late last week, as per WSJ, and the accord is expected to be signed on Wednesday. The report added that the accord will be signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
Based on a report by the Wall Street Journal, the deal is designed to provide American companies with a central role in the development of a Saudi nuclear programme.
While the deal has yet to be formally announced by the countries, it paves the way for significant US influence over the kingdom’s nuclear programme, which, according to officials from the Trump administration, would prevent its misuse.
The deal is now expected to be submitted to Congress for review and is expected to receive backlash, especially due to American apprehension towards nuclear technology in the West Asia region.
The deal for the Saudi’s nuclear programme also comes as the conflict between the United States and Iran escalates, bringing the Gulf region, once again, on the brink of war.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have been and remain regional rivals. As per critics, the agreement puts the Trump administration in an awkward position because on one hand, it’s calling for limits on the Iranian nuclear programme and on the other, the US will help Saudi Arabia with building the programme and uranium enrichment.
However, as per WSJ, Trump officials have said that there is no contradiction if the Saudi program is subject to effective safeguards.
Furthermore, according to people familiar with the matter, the US-Saudi agreement is not expected to include additional protocol from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
While Saudi Arabia is a member of the IAEA, the deal does not mention any other norms for monitoring inspections and verification.
When this deal first surfaced in 2023 under the Biden administration, a key norm for the development of the Saudi nuclear programme was that the kingdom would normalise its ties with Israel.
With a push from Washington, officials from Israel and Saudi Arabia also visited Tel Aviv and Riyadh for the first time. However, with the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, Saudi Arabia stated it would not normalise its ties or pursue a similar path until a two-state solution was guaranteed for Palestine.
Fast forward to 2026, amid the Iran war, Trump has pushed for Saudi Arabia and other Islamic states to join the Abraham Accords, whose sole purpose is to normalise ties with Israel and recognise it as a legitimate country in the region.
