Trump says nuclear energy deal is contingent on Saudis signing Abraham Accords
President Donald Trump on Thursday threw a last-minute wrinkle into the agreement he made with Saudi Arabia to partner on developing the Kingdom's civil nuclear energy program by declaring on his social media platform the deal is contingent on it signing the Abraham Accords, which would require it to normalize relations with Israel.
That contingency wasn't in the original deal to which the U.S. and Saudis agreed to. Joining the Abraham Accords would cause Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel, something it has been strongly against without the recognition of a Palestinian state.
Two U.S. officials told ABC News the deal leaves open the possibility that Saudi Arabia will enrich uranium domestically in the future, a prospect that could raise concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation.
However, Trump disputed the officials' description of the agreement in his post Thursday, saying there would be no uranium enrichment.
"There will be no enrichment of material!" Trump wrote, adding that the deal "is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed at a White House press briefing hours later that the condition had been added to the agreement.
“Yes, this deal with Saudi Arabia, the energy deal, is contingent on this condition as far as the president is concerned. So we'll continue to talk with our Saudi counterparts to get the deal finalized and hopefully see them joining Abraham Accords very soon,” Leavitt said.
Asked whether there was any indication the Saudis are considering signing the accords, especially since this condition was not part of the original agreement, Leavitt demurred.
“The president has spoken directly with the Saudis about this and numerous conversations in the past, and the administration will continue to engage in those conversations,” she said.
But Leavitt said that Trump had not spoken with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud about the new condition.
“As you know, the president just put out this statement a few hours ago. I don't believe he's had a call with MBS in the hours since. However, this is something that he has raised in previous conversations and has also said many times in the past,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt said that she did not want to get ahead of the president’s conversations with the Saudis when pressed on the issue repeatedly.
Under the agreement, the United States and Saudi Arabia agree to safeguards intended to prevent any weaponization effort, the officials said. But that framework would be governed by the two countries themselves rather than the International Atomic Energy Agency, which traditionally oversees civilian nuclear agreements.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked about the agreement on Wednesday. He declined to comment on the contours of the plan but said that the Trump administration would work with Congress to formalize the deal.
“Suffice it to say, the U.S. is not going to reach any agreement with any country in the world that leads to the risk of proliferation,” Rubio said.
The agreement, under which U.S. industry would help develop Saudi nuclear infrastructure, spans 30 years and is valued at tens of billions of dollars, the officials said.
Asked why Saudi Arabia would get to enter a civilian nuclear deal with the U.S. while Iran does not, Leavitt focused only on the Saudi agreement, saying it is “still being worked out” and that it is inherently intended to benefit Americans.
“But this agreement, in particular, as it's been discussed thus far, does give priority access for American companies and the Saudi nuclear energy program, which will ultimately benefit American industry workers and supply chains. So the deal that has been discussed thus far and will continue to be discussed absolutely puts America First,” she said.
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia discussed details of the proposal during a visit to Washington, D.C., by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last fall. The administration is expected to submit the deal to Congress, which is required by federal law.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that the president had approved the deal.
