Trump says US-Saudi civil nuclear deal hinges on Riyadh normalizing ties with Israel

CAIRO – 23 July 2026: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a civil nuclear agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia is conditional on the kingdom normalizing relations with Israel.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the agreement, which covers only civilian nuclear activities, "will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords."

He stressed that the deal will not permit uranium enrichment and pertains solely to non-military nuclear use.

"There will be no enrichment of material!" Trump wrote, adding that the US “is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities.”

Washington and Riyadh announced the agreement on Wednesday, allowing Saudi Arabia to build nuclear reactors using US technology, according to Reuters.

The deal must still be approved by the US Congress before it can enter into force.

Saudi Arabia has consistently maintained that it will not normalize ties with Israel without a credible and irreversible pathway toward the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, a demand Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to meet.