Trump Sends Saudi Civil Nuclear Agreement to Congress, Tying It to Abraham Accords

President Donald Trump’s administration formally transmitted a 30-year civil nuclear cooperation pact with Saudi Arabia to the U.S. Congress in late August. The agreement, signed on July 22 by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, would permit U.S. firms to assist Saudi Arabia in building civilian nuclear infrastructure, including AP1000 reactors. Under the Atomic Energy Act, Congress now has a 90-day session-day review period; if no joint resolution of disapproval is adopted, the pact takes effect automatically.

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The deal follows a July 16 certification that it meets U.S. non-proliferation standards. President Trump has made the agreement contingent on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords—the U.S.–brokered normalization framework linking Israel with several Arab states. This condition was announced after the July 22 signing and was not part of the original negotiation text, according to administration officials.

Washington Examiner

• Chris Wright said the nuclear and Abraham Accords negotiations “will be worked in parallel” and called the pact a “great step forward” for U.S.–Saudi relations and the nuclear industry.

The Epoch Times

• Rafael Grossi noted the IAEA Board will review the safeguards annex, adding “extra measures … added layers of very stringent verification.”

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• A Saudi official indicated that bilateral relations are evolving and the partnership is ready to be strengthened.

Trump Refers Nuclear Agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress and Insists on Tying It to Normalization with Israel

• Administration spokespeople reiterated that the deal is limited to non-military use and remains subject to Saudi participation in the Abraham Accords.

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• Sen. Ed Markey argued the pact lacks the “most stringent safeguards” and urged adoption of the non-proliferation Gold Standard, which bans enrichment and reprocessing.

Trump Refers Nuclear Agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress and Insists on Tying It to Normalization with Israel

• Sen. Jeff Merkley, Rep. John Garamendi, and Rep. Donald Beyer warned the agreement could enable a regional nuclear arms race by permitting domestic enrichment without the Additional Protocol.

The Epoch Times

• Scott Roecker, Nuclear Threat Initiative director, said the administration is entering “uncharted territory” and is not obligated to finalize the deal after congressional review.

CNN

• Sources differ on whether the Abraham Accords condition is explicitly included in the classified text sent to Congress; some describe it as a retroactive policy statement, others note the secrecy prevents verification.

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• Classification of the entire agreement, rather than just the non-proliferation annex, is described by analysts as “unprecedented.”

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