President Donald Trump has introduced a potential stumbling block to the recently signed nuclear deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Trump stated that the agreement is contingent on the kingdom recognizing Israel, casting doubt on the pact mere hours after its confirmation.
For years, Saudi Arabia has stood apart from the Abraham Accords, a move that saw various Arab nations establish diplomatic ties with Israel. The kingdom has historically maintained this stance, demanding progress toward Palestinian statehood as a prerequisite for engagement.
The announcement of the civilian nuclear agreement on Thursday initially seemed like a significant achievement for Saudi Arabia. This development unfolded amid a broader campaign by Trump to confront Iran, largely due to worries about its nuclear endeavors.
However, Trump complicated matters with a declaration via his Truth Social network. He asserted that the Saudi Arabian deal “will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.”
According to the White House, Saudi officials were aware that the agreement hinged upon recognizing Israel, although this critical detail was omitted in the initial announcement of the deal.
“The president is always the final dealmaker, as you know,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, adding that the Abraham Accords were “something that he feels very strongly about and has spoken about it in the past and will continue to uphold”.
She said the US would “continue to have those conversations with our Saudi counterparts” to finalise a deal including recognition of Israel.
Israel responds
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recognition by Saudi Arabia, a regional power and home to Islam’s holiest sites, would mark a “historic leap” forward for peace in the Middle East.
Leavitt said she did not know of any calls between Trump and Netanyahu following the announcement of the Saudi agreement.
Should it go through, the deal to establish a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia would generate billions of dollars for US companies, but with Trump’s latest announcement, it was unclear whether it would ever see the light of day.
HA Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the United Kingdom-based think tank the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, said if the US “tries to force normalisation on Riyadh, it’s not likely to work out very well”.
“Would Saudi decide to do a complete 180 on what it has declared for the past three years, or 30 years? Quite dubious,” he said.
Critics have also insisted that the deal could precipitate a nuclear race in a region already battered by war.
One provision would potentially see US companies build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The US energy department made no mention of such a provision and did not offer comment when asked about it by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
Trump seemingly quashed it by saying on Truth Social that there would be “no enrichment of material!”
The deal will be submitted to Congress for review.
US politicians from both parties and Israeli officials have previously voiced opposition to such a project over fears Saudi Arabia could eventually convert it to develop nuclear weapons.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said that “any agreement that we’re going to make with any country in the world on civil nuclear energy is going to be one that will have safeguards in place to ensure that it can’t be turned into a weapons program”.
Concerns about nuclear proliferation
Saudi Arabia, like Iran, has long been adamant about its right to pursue a civilian nuclear program. Last year it signed a mutual defence pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan.
Policymakers have long feared that if Iran produced a nuclear weapon, the move would set off an arms race across the Gulf.
US energy secretary Chris Wright dismissed concerns, insisting the deal was in the nation’s economic and strategic interest and involved the “highest standards of nuclear safety and nonproliferation”.
The US has agreements governing nuclear cooperation with more than 50 countries.
The Saudi deal comes as the Gulf nation looks set to be dragged further into the Middle East war, with Yemen’s Houthi rebels starting to attack ships in the Red Sea to enforce what they say is a blockade on Saudi Arabia.
Trump vowed to punish both Iran and the Houthis if the attacks continue.