Trump says no nuke deal with Saudis until they sign Abraham Accords

Any nuclear deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia would be contingent on Riyadh normalizing relations with Israel and would prohibit the production of atomic weapons, President Trump said Thursday, one day after the agreement, signed Wednesday in Washington, set off alarms in both Jerusalem and Washington.

Critics of the deal underscored what wasn’t mentioned in the document: Saudi Arabia’s future relationship with Israel. Yair Golan, leader of Israel’s left-wing opposition party, blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the omission.

Mr. Golan said normalization with Saudi Arabia has been a strategic goal for Israeli leaders across the board, but he said the Trump-brokered deal is lacking.

“Netanyahu succeeded in doing the impossible: he both lost the normalization with Saudi Arabia and enabled it to gain nuclear capabilities,” said Mr. Golan, a former Israel Defense Forces deputy chief of staff. “Now, one of the main incentives for normalization has been handed over without Israel being a part of the deal.”

On Thursday, Mr. Trump went to his Truth Social page to clarify the civil nuclear deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. He insisted there would be no uranium enrichment and that any assistance provided by Washington would be for non-military use. He also stressed that the deal wouldn’t go forward unless Riyadh joins the “very respected and successful” Abraham Accords, the 2020 agreements that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations.

The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan have signed the accords.

Mr. Netanyahu said the joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against Iran created the opportunity for an expansion of “the circle of peace.”

“As President Trump has said, Saudi Arabia’s joining of the Abraham Accords would be a historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East,” Mr. Netanyahu said Thursday in a statement.

During a stop at the Environmental Protection Agency, Mr. Trump said Iran still wants to make a deal with the U.S. over its nuclear ambitions. But he said Iranian officials have not been trustworthy.

“They would like to do something. But I say they’re not ready yet. They need more of the same,” he said, alluding to military force. “They’re not ready yet. They have some evil intentions. We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saudi Arabia is an important strategic partner of the U.S. But any nuclear energy deal would have to go through the congressional notification process before it can be enacted.

“We’re not the only country in the world that offers nuclear technology. And when countries decide that they want to pursue a peaceful civil nuclear program, we’d prefer them to do it with us than do it with some other country,” Mr. Rubio said Thursday during a stop in the Philippines. “It allows us to have influence over the direction that it goes. It allows us to make sure that there are safeguards in place.”

He said the U.S. would not enter into a civil nuclear deal with another country if there was any way for it to be used for military purposes.

“One of the best safeguards is to make sure that American technology and American companies are the ones that are involved in doing it,” Mr. Rubio said. “If, on the other hand, a country pursues nuclear technology with another country, well then we don’t really control those safeguards.”

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the nuclear cooperation deal, commonly known as a 123 Agreement, lays the legal foundation for a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar partnership between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. “These agreements reflect our two nations’ shared commitment to strengthening U.S.-Saudi commercial relations, delivering prosperity at home and security to our allies abroad,” Mr. Wright said Wednesday. “These agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and non-proliferation.”

Avigdor Lieberman, a former Israeli defense minister who leads the conservative Yisrael Beiteinu party, wasn’t buying the assurances from Washington that the deal with Saudi Arabia would serve only peaceful purposes.

“We must all understand that Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear program will end in nuclear weapons and lead to a mad arms race across the entire Middle East,” Mr. Lieberman said on X. “The State of Israel must make it clear and unequivocal: We will oppose this with all our might.”

Mr. Rubio said the U.S. wants to be the “partner of choice” for countries that are exploring civil, peaceful nuclear energy.

“We’re always looking for opportunities to make sure that our technology and our companies are the ones that are providing that,” he said.

Tensions remain high in the Middle East as Iran has launched attacks on U.S. military bases in Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq. At least 18 U.S. service members have been killed in the ongoing conflict between Washington and Tehran and more than 400 have been wounded.

Mr. Trump has publicly threatened that further attacks on shipping in the strait will trigger direct strikes on power plants and bridges, including those in Tehran.

Prices for U.S. crude jumped to more than $92 per barrel on Thursday as the price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed about 7% to cross over $100. The AAA auto club said the national average for a gallon of gas climbed to $4.09. The surge in prices comes after the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels announced the start of a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia and claimed to have attacked a pair of Saudi oil tankers transiting the Red Sea.