SerpApi.Org
WASHINGTON — President Trump has approved a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could lead to the Middle Eastern kingdom enriching its own uranium, US officials have confirmed.
The deal, expected to be formally announced later Wednesday and submitted to Congress soon after, will be in effect through 2056 and be worth tens of billions of dollars, the officials said.
The pact was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Under the terms of the agreement, American firms would construct a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia upon the conclusion of a joint feasibility study by the two nations.
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If Washington and Riyadh agree such a step is warranted, officials say, American influence is meant to prevent the program from being misused for military purposes.
If Washington and Riyadh agree such a step is warranted, US officials say, American influence would prevent the program from being misused for military purposes.
Wednesday’s announcement comes as the US steps up its war against Iran, the main goal of which is to prevent the Islamic theocracy — Saudi Arabia’s great rival in the Middle East — from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has long warned that if Iran developed a nuclear weapon, his country would do so as well.
“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,” MBS told CBS News in 2018.
Congress can block the agreement, but it would need to pass a joint resolution with a two-thirds majority in both houses to override any presidential veto.
Israel is also expected to oppose the deal over its objection to a rival nation having nuclear capabilities.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett described the pact Wednesday as a “grave strategic failure that endangers our security.”
“Allowing uranium enrichment on Saudi soil could trigger a regional nuclear arms race and lead to a highly dangerous loss of control. No one can truly predict what the Middle East will look like in 10 or 20 years, which is why the region needs fewer centrifuges—not more,” he said in a statement.
The Trump administration is trying to ease concerns about a nuclear race in the historically unstable region.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters traveling with him in the Philippines that ”the US is not going to reach any agreement with any country in the world that leads to the risk of proliferation.”
The Biden administration also was in discussions with Riyadh about a nuclear deal but made normalized relations with Israel a condition of any deal. Those talks were scrapped following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent war in Gaza.
Trump hasn’t insisted on Saudi Arabia establishing ties with Israel as part of the agreement, although he’s encouraged Riyadh and other Islamic nations to join the Abraham Accords, which were agreed in his first term.
