Trump Approves Saudi Arabia Nuclear Deal Without Major Safeguards, Sources Say

White House set to submit controversial 30-year civil nuclear energy pact to Congress despite proliferation concerns

July 22nd, 06AM July 22nd, 06AM

U.S. President Donald Trump has approved a 30-year agreement with Saudi Arabia to share civilian nuclear power technology, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported, citing administration officials and sources familiar with the matter.

The deal, estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars, aims to give U.S. companies a central role in developing Saudi Arabia's nuclear infrastructure while explicitly excluding foreign competitors.

The accord is expected to be submitted to Congress for review in the coming days, where it faces likely opposition from lawmakers concerned about the spread of nuclear technology in the Middle East.

The agreement refers to Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and is required to permit the U.S. government and American companies to work with entities in the kingdom to develop a multibillion-dollar civil nuclear industry.

The document is expected to be signed by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. Wright previously discussed the deal during his first overseas trip to the region in April 2025, following a preliminary agreement signed in Riyadh.

However, the pact does not include the "Gold Standard" that would block the kingdom from enriching uranium and reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, both of which are potential pathways to nuclear weapons. It also excludes the "Additional Protocol," which grants the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency broad and more intrusive oversight of a country's nuclear activities, such as the power to carry out snap inspections at undeclared locations.

Instead, a key provision provides a legal pathway for cooperation on the nuclear fuel cycle without immediately obligating the U.S. to transfer related capabilities or technology.

Under this framework, U.S. companies would be allowed to build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia only if a joint U.S.-Saudi study determines the step is warranted. According to the WSJ report, this study is slated to be a two-year evaluation examining local enrichment rather than relying on imported nuclear fuel.

Trump administration officials told the WSJ this stipulation would give the U.S. long-term influence over the Saudi nuclear program and provide a way to prevent it from being misused for military purposes.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has long said if Iran developed a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would too, fueling concern among arms control advocates and some U.S. lawmakers over a civil nuclear deal.

The crown prince told CBS in 2018 that "Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclear bomb, but without a doubt if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible." The kingdom has also insisted it wants to reserve the right to enrich uranium, whereas the United Arab Emirates agreed to the "Gold Standard" in 2009 when it signed its own 123 Agreement with Washington.

Once 123 agreements are submitted to Congress, they go into a review period of about 90 days of continuous congressional sessions for lawmakers to object, or they go into force.

To block the agreement, Congress would need to pass a joint resolution and have a two-thirds majority to override any presidential veto. Many Democrats and some Republicans, including Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he served in the Senate, have insisted any agreement include guardrails.