President Trump said Thursday that his civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia will be conditioned on the Saudis normalizing relations with Israel as part of his Abraham Accords.
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Mr. Trump outlined the condition on his social media platform, saying any deal “is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.”
The condition is key because Saudi-Israeli normalization is a major goal for Mr. Trump but a thorny issue for the kingdom, which sees Israeli treatment of Palestinians as a major problem and impediment to better relations. The Abraham Accords normalized relations between Muslim-majority and Arab countries and Israel during Mr. Trump’s first term, but getting the Saudis to enlist is a key goal for the Trump administration.
The administration signed the nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Energy confirmed that U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed the agreement, along with Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, earlier in the day.
The accord, known as the 123 agreement, is accompanied by a “bilateral safeguards agreement,” according to the Energy Department.
Mr. Trump, who is waging war with Iran over its nuclear ambition, said the agreement allows nuclear facilities for nonmilitary purposes only.
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“The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities,” Mr. Trump wrote.
The deal is intended to strengthen cooperation between the U.S. and Saudi energy industries, giving American companies increased access to the kingdom’s emerging nuclear production.
The exact terms of the deal have not yet been revealed, and the Energy Department did not specify how long the agreement would last. Reports from this week suggested the accord could last as long as 30 years.
The terms of the agreement are a major departure from precedent. Previous U.S. administrations have explicitly restricted the kingdom’s domestic nuclear program to prevent proliferation in the Middle East.
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• Vaughn Cockayne contributed to this report.
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