Trump says Saudi Arabia’s nuclear deal hinges on the kingdom normalizing Israel ties – NPR
After a Saudi nuclear power deal raised alarm in Israel, President Trump announced online that the arrangement is subject to the kingdom normalizing relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords.
President Trump said on Thursday that a new nuclear energy deal with Saudi Arabia will require the Arab kingdom to normalize relations with Israel. That marked a turn, a day after the administration announced the signing of the agreement without mentioning that precondition.
Trump said in an online post that the deal “will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.” The U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, beginning in Trump’s first term in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and a series of countries, including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to NPR’s request for comment. It is unclear how the new condition might affect the deal. The Saudi kingdom has long insisted it will not normalize relations with Israel until there is a clear pathway to establish a Palestinian state. The Israeli government strongly opposes Palestinian statehood.
“Does a social post supersede a signed diplomatic agreement? I think this is one of the frustrations that other countries have had with the United States,” said Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. “No one in Washington really knows how it’s going to work.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that President Trump did not speak to Saudi leadership before posting the condition on social media, but said he has previously spoken about the importance of joining the Abraham Accords with Gulf and Arab allies.
