President Donald Trump stated Thursday that Saudi Arabia will not enrich uranium under a landmark nuclear deal signed with the United States this week. According to Trump, the deal will take effect only after Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords and normalizes diplomatic relations with Israel.
“No uranium enrichment will take place!” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social. He added that the deal “completely depends on Saudi Arabia joining the highly respected and successful Abraham Accords”.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed a cooperation agreement in civil nuclear energy on Wednesday. They also signed a bilateral nuclear safeguards agreement.
Details of the agreement and the review process
The White House has not released the text of the agreement. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the agreement will lay the groundwork for a multi-billion dollar nuclear partnership between the two countries, spanning decades.
The agreement will be sent to Congress for review, the department reported. Cooperation between the United States and foreign countries in civil nuclear energy requires such review under the Atomic Energy Act.
Concerns about a nuclear arms race in the Middle East
Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns about the agreement’s impact on the Middle East. The United States and Israel have partially justified the current war against Iran as an attempt to compel Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. They previously bombed Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025.
“This agreement will trigger a nuclear arms race in the region, further reducing incentives for Iran to limit its own nuclear program,” stated Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut in a social media post.
Source: CNBC
