Trump says Saudi nuclear deal 'totally subject' to Israel normalization
Saudi Arabia has previously said normalized relations with Israel would require an irreversible path to Palestinian statehood.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday the newly reached US-Saudi nuclear agreement would require that Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords with Israel.
In a Truth Social post a day after the 30-year, multibillion-dollar deal between Riyadh and Washington was announced, Trump said the agreement “will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.”
The deal for US companies to develop Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear program drew an immediate backlash on Capitol Hill for failing to prohibit uranium enrichment or reprocessing of spent fuel. Both are potential pathways to a nuclear weapon, which Riyadh says it does not seek to build.
By linking the agreement to the Abraham Accords, Trump may be seeking to blunt that criticism. His first administration brokered the 2020 accords, which normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and several regional countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
There is no indication that Saudi Arabia — the birthplace of Islam and custodian of its two holiest sites — is close to formally recognizing the existence of Israel, a decision that would likely encourage other Arab and Muslim-majority countries to strike their own normalization deals with the Jewish state.
A spokesperson for the Saudi Embassy in Washington did not return an Al-Monitor request for comment.
Speaking in Riyadh in May 2025, Trump said it was his “dream” for Saudi Arabia to join the normalization pact that he brokered in his first term, before acknowledging the Gulf powerhouse would do so in its “own time.”
Saudi public opinion of Israel sharply deteriorated amid the war in the Gaza Strip, where near-daily Israeli strikes continue despite an October 2025 ceasefire.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Saudi officials have said normalized relations with Israel would require a credible, irreversible path to Palestinian statehood. Facing election-year pressures, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected the creation of a Palestinian state, arguing it would reward Hamas.
Prince Mohammed doubled down on Saudi Arabia’s conditions during his Oval Office meeting with Trump in November.
"We want to be part of the Abraham Accords, but we want also to be sure that we secure a clear path to a two-state solution,” he told reporters.
This developing story has been updated since initial publication.
