Trump Approves Historic Civil Nuclear Deal with Saudi Arabia Without Linking to Israel Normalization

US President Donald Trump has approved a landmark civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia valued at tens of billions of dollars, according to the Wall Street Journal citing senior US officials. The 30-year deal aims to establish a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia, granting American companies a central role in developing the infrastructure. A key provision allows US firms to build a uranium enrichment facility on Saudi soil, a move that has raised concerns among US lawmakers. This clause is contingent on a joint US-Saudi study to determine its strategic justification.

The White House asserts that the agreement will give the US significant influence over Saudi Arabia's nuclear program and tools to prevent military misuse of the technology. However, the deal is expected to face strong opposition in Congress, where many lawmakers fear the spread of sensitive nuclear technology and an arms race in the Middle East. The agreement will soon be reviewed by Congress, where blocking it would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers, a high threshold that would allow Trump to veto any rejection.

Following presidential approval last weekend, the deal is scheduled to be signed on Wednesday by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. This signing will mark a turning point in the energy and strategic relations between the two countries.

Significantly, Trump has separated this nuclear cooperation agreement from any normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, a departure from the Biden administration’s policy which linked civilian nuclear cooperation to progress on Israeli-Saudi normalization. Recently, Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed hopes for peace with Saudi Arabia in a rare interview with Saudi television, but reports indicate Saudi Arabia is demanding difficult conditions for normalization, including changes in Israeli leadership and policy reversals in the West Bank and Samaria.