Trump Sends Saudi Nuclear Deal to Congress as Riyadh Rejects Israel Condition

Trump has formally sent the landmark U.S.-Saudi civilian nuclear agreement to Congress, even as Riyadh reiterated Thursday that it will not normalize relations with Israel without an independent Palestinian state, a condition Trump says must be met before the nuclear deal can take effect.

The submission starts a 90-legislative-day congressional review of the 30-year agreement, which would allow U.S. companies to export civilian nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. Congress can reject the agreement during that period; Trump could veto a resolution of disapproval, requiring two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override him.

Riyadh has long made Palestinian statehood a prerequisite for diplomatic relations with Israel. A Saudi-Israeli agreement appeared increasingly possible in 2023 before the October 7 Hamas attack and the Gaza war derailed negotiations. 

The nuclear pact would give U.S. companies access to Saudi Arabia’s planned civilian nuclear buildout, and leaves open the possibility of uranium enrichment inside the Kingdom under U.S. oversight. 

Under the proposed deal, Washington and Riyadh would have two years to determine whether domestic enrichment is warranted and commercially viable.

That provision is quite different from Washington’s 2009 nuclear agreement with the UAE, which prohibits domestic uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing. Under the Saudi agreement, any enrichment facilities approved after the two-year assessment would be built by U.S. companies under a “black box” arrangement, allowing Saudi enrichment under American oversight without transferring the underlying technology.

Saudi Arabia has refused to surrender the enrichment option, while Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has previously said the kingdom would pursue a nuclear weapon if Iran acquired one. 

Riyadh wants nuclear generation to reduce the oil and gas consumed by its domestic power system and preserve more hydrocarbons for export. For Washington, the agreement would put U.S. companies in a position to build Saudi Arabia’s nuclear fleet rather than leave the market to competing Chinese or Russian technology.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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