Full Breakdown

Trump Ties Saudi Civil Nuclear Deal to Israel Normalisation

8/26/2026, 5:58:59 AM

Core Event: Submission of the 123 Agreement

On August 24, 2026, President Donald Trump sent a proposed civil-nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress. The 30-year “123 agreement” under the Atomic Energy Act would permit U.S. companies to export civilian nuclear technology to the kingdom and give U.S. firms a central role in developing Saudi civilian nuclear infrastructure (New York Times; KSAT). The transmission initiates a 90-session-day congressional review period; unless a joint resolution rejecting the pact is passed, the deal can take effect without a vote (New York Times; Straitstimes).

The pact follows the Abraham Accords, U.S.-brokered normalisation agreements signed in 2020-2021 between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. Trump announced that the Saudi deal will move forward only if Riyadh joins the Accords, echoing a condition previously voiced by former President Joe Biden. Saudi Arabia has said it will recognise Israel only after an “irreversible path” to a Palestinian state is established. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly rejected Palestinian statehood as “untenable”.

The agreement calls for construction of AP1000 reactors, a project valued at “tens of billions of dollars” that would benefit Westinghouse, jointly owned by Canada-based Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management.

Congress has 90 session days to review; the agreement is expected to be handed to committees on August 26, 2026.

If Congress objects, Trump could veto a rejection, requiring a two-thirds majority to override.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed the agreement in Washington (New York Times).

The administration noted that the pact contains “non-proliferation measures required by law”.

Democratic lawmakers and non-proliferation experts argue the pact lacks the “gold-standard” safeguards that bar enrichment and reprocessing, measures included in the United Arab Emirates’ 2009 civil-nuclear deal.

Senators Edward J. Markey (Massachusetts) and Jeff Merkley (Oregon), together with Representatives John Garamendi (California) and **Donald S. They also criticized the simultaneous U.S. stance of confronting Iran over its nuclear program while negotiating with Saudi Arabia (New York Times).

The New York Times reports that the agreement could allow Saudi Arabia to enrich its own nuclear fuel, a capability central to regional tensions with Iran.

Straitstimes states the administration says the deal includes required non-proliferation measures, without specifying whether enrichment is prohibited.

It is unclear whether Trump’s condition on Israeli normalisation is explicitly written in the classified document submitted to Congress. These discrepancies leave open questions about the precise proliferation safeguards and the legal status of the normalisation requirement.

“This is hardly ideal if you’re serious about no enrichment and recognition of Israel,” — Henry Sokolski

The agreement is slated for committee review on August 26, 2026; thereafter Congress has 90 session days to act. If no joint resolution is passed, the pact could become effective automatically. Opposing lawmakers have signaled intent to seek a rejection resolution, while the administration has indicated it may veto such a move.