Trump Approves 30-Year Nuclear Deal With Saudi Arabia

President Donald Trump has approved a wide-ranging civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that would permit the kingdom to build out its own nuclear energy program and, under specified conditions, enrich uranium on its own territory — a provision raising alarms among arms-control experts and Israeli officials who worry it could touch off a regional nuclear arms race.

The deal, which the administration plans to send to Congress within days, covers a 30-year span and carries a price tag in the tens of billions of dollars. It would open the door for American companies — including Pittsburgh-based nuclear energy firm Westinghouse — to help design and construct Saudi nuclear facilities. Before the kingdom could pursue uranium enrichment domestically, a joint U.S.-Saudi study would first have to be completed; should the United States then raise objections, Saudi Arabia would be prohibited from enriching uranium — either on its own or through a third-party partner — for a decade.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, addressing reporters Wednesday on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers' gathering in the Philippines, declined to spell out the pact's specific terms but pledged that the administration would work alongside Congress to bring it to completion. "Suffice it to say, the U.S. is not going to reach any agreement with any country in the world that leads to the risk of proliferation," Rubio said.

The Saudi arrangement differs meaningfully from a 2009 nuclear cooperation accord the United States struck with the United Arab Emirates, under which Abu Dhabi committed to forgo uranium enrichment and the reprocessing of spent fuel — a bar that non-proliferation specialists have long held up as the gold standard for such agreements. The new deal with Riyadh also stops short of mandating the International Atomic Energy Agency's additional protocol, which gives inspectors broader powers to confirm that nuclear materials are not being diverted for weapons purposes.

Critics quickly seized on the timing. The Trump administration has cast preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon as a core rationale for its ongoing military campaign against Tehran, which was entering its 11th straight night of U.S. airstrikes Wednesday. Granting a rival Gulf state a path toward enrichment at the same moment, analysts warned, could muddy that message and might push Iran — which has long pledged to match Saudi Arabia's nuclear capabilities — to move faster on its own program.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has publicly stated that if Iran obtained a nuclear weapon, the kingdom would seek to do the same.

Israeli opposition politicians condemned the deal, with some cautioning that it could encourage other nations in the region to pursue nuclear programs of their own. An Israeli minister attempted to downplay those fears publicly, but analysts noted that the diplomatic math was complicated by Israel's own undeclared nuclear arsenal.

The agreement had been in negotiation through several U.S. administrations. During the Biden years, nuclear cooperation had been bundled into a broader package that would have required Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel — a condition rendered unworkable by the outbreak of war in Gaza. The Trump administration revived the negotiations and dropped the normalization requirement.

The pact represents a significant expansion of the American-Saudi relationship at a moment when the two countries have been navigating friction over the U.S. military campaign against Iran, and is expected to generate substantial revenue for U.S. industry. The administration intends to formally notify Congress, which holds the legal authority to review and reject such agreements. Pushback is anticipated from members of both parties.