US President Donald Trump has reversed course on a proposed long-term civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, restoring Israeli normalization as a condition for the agreement after initially advancing the negotiations without linking them to the so-called Abraham Accords.
Trump’s policy reversal emerged on Wednesday after reports earlier this week indicated that his administration had approved a 30-year civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, paving the way for the proposal to be submitted to Congress for review.
His latest position would once again tie the agreement to Saudi recognition of Israel, reinstating a condition that had reportedly been removed during the negotiations and fundamentally altering the terms under which Riyadh would gain access to American nuclear technology.
Trump confirmed the reversal in a post on Truth Social, writing: “The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!)… pertains only to non-military use such as the ones that Iran and UAE (and others) already have, will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.”
The agreement has also renewed scrutiny of Washington’s double-standard approach to nuclear issues in West Asia, particularly as the United States continues to pursue closer nuclear cooperation with Riyadh.
Should enrichment eventually proceed, American companies would reportedly build and operate the facilities under a “black box” system designed to prevent the transfer of sensitive technology, as Saudi Arabia has stopped short of committing to the IAEA’s Additional Protocol, which grants the agency broader inspection powers.
Meanwhile the Israeli regime, another Washington’s ally in West Asia, possesses an undeclared nuclear arsenal estimated at around 90 nuclear warheads.
The occupying entity is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has never officially acknowledged its nuclear weapons capability, and similar to Saudi Arabia does not place its nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards regime.
Iran, by contrast, has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful, remains a party to the NPT, and has cooperated with the IAEA for years.
US intelligence assessments have repeatedly concluded that Iran is not pursuing an active nuclear weapons programme, yet Washington continues to invoke Tehran’s nuclear activities to justify its hostile policies and military aggression against the Islamic Republic.
