Trump will make nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia on condition of recognizing Israel

President Donald Trump has sent a proposed agreement with Saudi Arabia on civil nuclear energy cooperation to the US Congress, but he has made it clear that the deal will not take effect unless Saudi Arabia normalizes relations with Israel.

A US administration official told Reuters on Tuesday (August 25).

The deal, finalized in July, will allow US companies to export civilian nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The deal was sent to Congress on Monday, the official said.

The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment on the matter.

It is unclear how Trump's goal will be furthered by sending the deal to Congress, which has 90 session days to review the deal.

The US administration official said the president's position has not changed. The deal will move forward only if Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords, which were brokered by the US to normalize relations between Arab and Muslim-majority countries and Israel.

In 2020 and 2021, Israel reached agreements to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. Trump also worked on a similar nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia during his first term.

Days after agreeing to a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia in July of this year, Trump made normalizing relations with Israel a condition for the deal to take effect. Former President Joe Biden also sought to make a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia and tried to tie it to the process of normalizing relations with Israel.

There was a possibility of normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel in 2023. However, the situation changed after Israel's war in Gaza began in October of that year. Saudi Arabia is now demanding an "irreversible path" towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state before recognizing Israel.

The 30-year nuclear deal includes plans to build AP1000 model nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia. The project, which is expected to cost several billion dollars, will benefit Westinghouse, which is jointly owned by Canada-based Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management.

Two congressional sources said the deal has been sent to congressional leaders and could be sent to relevant committees on Wednesday. The deal will take effect if Congress does not object within 90 session days. If Congress rejects the deal, Trump can veto it. However, a two-thirds majority in Congress would be required to override the veto.

Criticism of the decision

Some Democratic lawmakers and nonproliferation experts have criticized the deal, concerned that it does not ban Saudi Arabia's uranium enrichment or nuclear waste reprocessing, processes seen as potential pathways to nuclear weapons.

In 2009, the UAE agreed to refrain from enriching uranium and reprocessing waste in a civil nuclear deal with the United States. This is considered the 'gold standard' in preventing nuclear proliferation.

However, the Trump administration claims that the agreement contains the necessary nuclear proliferation prevention measures required by law.

Henry Sokolsky, head of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, said that by starting the process of ratifying the agreement, Trump has created the possibility that Congress could approve the agreement without the conditions regarding recognition of Israel and uranium enrichment. 

He said that if there is a really tough stance on nuclear non-proliferation and recognition of Israel, such a situation is "not ideal."

Source: Reuters