Trump sends Saudi nuclear deal to Congress, ties approval to Israel normalization

President Donald Trump has transmitted a draft civilian nuclear energy agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress, insisting it will only be approved if Riyadh normalizes relations with Israel, a US administration official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The July agreement would let American companies export civilian nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, spanning 30 years and envisioning AP1000 reactors in a project worth tens of billions of dollars, benefiting Westinghouse, jointly owned by Canada's Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management.

Transmitted Monday, the deal is expected to reach congressional committees Wednesday; barring objections within a 90-day session period, it automatically takes effect. Congress could reject it, but Trump could veto that rejection, requiring a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override.

No Deal Without Abraham Accords

"The president's position has not changed: the deal cannot move forward unless Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords," the official said, referring to the US-brokered normalization pacts Israel signed with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan in 2020-2021.

Diplomats believed Riyadh was close to normalizing with Israel in 2023, before the Gaza war upended those talks, Saudi Arabia has since demanded a Palestinian state as a precondition.

Critics note the deal doesn't bar Saudi Arabia from enriching uranium or reprocessing waste, unlike the UAE's stricter 2009 nuclear agreement with Washington.