US President Donald Trump has submitted a proposed civilian nuclear cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia to Congress for review while maintaining that the deal will not move forward unless Riyadh normalizes relations with Israel, according to a US administration official.
The agreement was sent to Congress on Monday under the US Atomic Energy Act, according to Reuters. The pact, finalized in July, is intended to support Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear program and would allow US companies to export civilian nuclear technology to the kingdom.
The agreement now enters a 90-session-day congressional review period. Congress can reject the agreement through a joint resolution during that period. If lawmakers do not block it, the agreement would take effect, although Trump could veto a congressional rejection.
The full agreement is classified, according to the Associated Press. The pact would establish a framework for US-Saudi cooperation on civilian nuclear energy, including the involvement of US companies in developing the kingdom’s nuclear program.
Trump’s condition that Saudi Arabia normalize relations with Israel has complicated the agreement. The administration has linked implementation of the nuclear pact to Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords, which established diplomatic ties between Israel and several Arab countries during Trump’s first term.
Saudi Arabia has not established diplomatic relations with Israel. Riyadh has said that normalization depends on progress toward Palestinian statehood, a position that remains a major obstacle to a broader US-Saudi-Israeli agreement.
The nuclear agreement has also raised concerns among some US lawmakers and nuclear nonproliferation experts over safeguards intended to prevent the spread of technologies that could potentially be used in weapons development. Reuters reported that critics have questioned the absence of so-called “gold standard” restrictions on uranium enrichment and nuclear waste reprocessing.
