Trump Sends 30-Year Nuclear Deal with Saudi Arabia to Congress, but Keeps Israel Condition

Submission of the Deal to Congress

According to The Wall Street Journal, as cited by RBC-Ukraine, US President Donald Trump on Monday submitted the 30-year nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia for congressional review. Under US law, such a deal must be presented to lawmakers, and blocking the document would be extremely difficult: it would require a joint resolution and two-thirds votes in both chambers to override a possible presidential veto. This step is expected to trigger months of debate over how to strengthen the US nuclear industry while simultaneously curbing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.

The Essence of the 30-Year Agreement

When representatives of the Trump administration announced the agreement last month, they emphasized that it would give American companies a central role in developing Saudi Arabia's nuclear infrastructure, excluding foreign competitors. Under the deal, American and Saudi officials will conduct a two-year study to determine the commercial viability of building a uranium enrichment facility in the kingdom by US companies. If the study shows that domestic uranium enrichment is justified, such facilities will be built under the agreement, which, according to Washington, will not allow the transfer of sensitive technologies to the Saudi side.

Positions of Riyadh and Washington

Saudi officials argue that the kingdom needs to develop a civilian nuclear industry using uranium ore deposits, which are planned to be mined to meet domestic energy needs. In their words, this would free up most of the extracted oil for export and increase revenues. For their part, representatives of the Trump administration claim that US involvement guarantees the peaceful nature of the kingdom's nuclear program.

Criticism and Non-Proliferation Risks

The deal has been controversial, as it potentially opens the way to uranium enrichment on Saudi Arabian territory. Critics argue that, despite the statements about guarantees, this would promote the spread of nuclear technologies in the unstable Middle East. Earlier, according to CNN, the Trump administration had preliminarily agreed to allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium without standard international non-proliferation safeguards.

Contradictory Data

There is a clear discrepancy in the presentation of the key terms. On the one hand, the Trump administration insists that the involvement of American companies guarantees the peaceful nature of the Saudi nuclear program and does not allow the transfer of sensitive technologies. On the other hand, according to CNN, Washington preliminarily agreed to uranium enrichment without standard international non-proliferation safeguards, which directly contradicts the rhetoric about "guarantees." Moreover, Trump's political demand for Saudi normalization of relations with Israel was put forward last month, already after the agreement had been negotiated and signed, creating an inconsistency in the very composition of the deal's terms.

The Israel Condition as an Obstacle

At the same time, Trump has not dropped his latest condition — the kingdom's accession to the Abraham Accords and the normalization of relations with Israel. The Abraham Accords were concluded in 2020 with US mediation and signed by the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. According to sources, this requirement has become a new obstacle to implementing the nuclear deal, as Riyadh has not yet confirmed its readiness to comply with it.