Trump Conditions Saudi Nuclear Pact on Normalizing Relations With Israel

U.S. President Donald Trump linked a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia to the kingdom joining the Abraham Accords on the 23rd (local time).

He also asserted that there would be no enrichment of nuclear materials by Saudi Arabia.

Writing on his social media platform Truth Social earlier in the day, President Trump announced that he would approve the nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, the so-called "123 Agreement," stating, "This is entirely conditioned on Saudi Arabia joining the highly respected and successful Abraham Accords."

The Abraham Accords are a series of agreements brokered by the United States during President Trump's first term, through which the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan agreed to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.

Given that the second Trump administration has been working to expand the accords to other Middle Eastern countries, the demand for normalizing relations with Israel appears to have been set as a prerequisite for concluding the nuclear pact.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated during a briefing, "This agreement with Saudi Arabia is premised on this condition (joining the Abraham Accords)," adding, "The President said that if Saudi Arabia does not join the Abraham Accords, this agreement (the 123 Agreement) is off."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately welcomed the move, saying, "Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords would be a historic leap toward peace in the Middle East."

However, U.S. media outlets pointed out that because Saudi Arabia has previously demanded the establishment of an independent Palestinian state—a condition unacceptable to Israel—as a prerequisite for normalizing bilateral relations, the 123 Agreement now faces a major variable just a day after its conclusion.

At the same time, regarding the 123 Agreement signed by the energy ministers of both countries the previous day, President Trump emphasized that it is a "civilian nuclear agreement," that "there will be no (nuclear) material enrichment," and that "it applies exclusively to non-military uses, similar to what Iran and the UAE already possess."

President Trump added, "The United States is not opposed to civilian, non-enrichment nuclear facilities."

Regarding the agreement, U.S. media reported that potentially allowing Saudi Arabia to conduct its own nuclear material enrichment and reprocessing could open the path to producing weapons-grade nuclear materials, raising concerns that a nuclear arms race would accelerate in the Middle East region.

While President Trump dismissed such concerns by asserting that "there is no enrichment," The New York Times (NYT) and CNN noted that his remarks differ from the explanations given by officials.

Citing anonymous U.S. officials, the NYT reported that a feature of the agreement is that after the United States and Saudi Arabia conduct a joint study (for two years) on the economic feasibility of nuclear fuel production, Saudi Arabia may be permitted to enrich uranium or reprocess (extract) plutonium on its own territory.

CNN also reported that the deal could lead to Saudi Arabia independently enriching fuel for civilian nuclear reactors, quoting a source who noted, "Notably, unlike when the UAE signed a so-called 'gold standard' nuclear cooperation agreement with the U.S. in 2009, there is no obligation to sign standard agreements such as with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and an additional protocol."

The gold standard accepted by the UAE meant forgoing the right to produce its own nuclear fuel through enrichment and reprocessing.

The additional protocol involves unannounced inspections of suspected sites across the entire country, including undeclared facilities.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced the previous day that it had signed the 123 Agreement and its accompanying safeguards agreement, stating that they would "benefit U.S. businesses, workers, and supply chains by providing U.S. companies broad participation in Saudi Arabia's nuclear energy program, while also contributing to Saudi Arabia's energy needs."

The Energy Department explained that "these two agreements promote U.S. and regional security by adhering to high standards of nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation, and by strengthening U.S. competitive advantage in the civil nuclear technology sector," but did not disclose specific details of the pacts.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.