US-Saudi Nuclear Deal Sent to Congress, Approval Tied to Israel Normalization

The Trump administration has submitted a proposed civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia to the U.S. Congress for review. However, a U.S. administration official told Reuters that the pact's final approval is contingent on the kingdom normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel.

Details of the Agreement

The proposed agreement, which was reportedly reached in July, was formally sent to Congress on Monday, according to the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The deal would permit U.S. companies to export civilian nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. Congress now has a 90-session-day period to consider the proposal. The Saudi embassy in Washington did not immediately provide a comment on the development.

This 30-year pact is centered on the construction of AP1000 reactors, a project valued at tens of billions of dollars. The primary corporate beneficiary would be Westinghouse, which is jointly owned by Canada-based Cameco (CCJ) and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM).

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Geopolitical Context

The administration official reiterated that President Trump's position remains firm: the agreement will only proceed if Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords, the series of U.S.-brokered normalization deals between Israel and several Arab nations established in 2020 and 2021.

This move continues efforts from both Trump's first term and the former Biden administration to broker a landmark three-way deal. Diplomatic progress toward Saudi-Israeli normalization was thought to be close in 2023 but stalled following the start of the Israel-Gaza war. Saudi Arabia has since maintained that any normalization deal must include an irreversible path toward a Palestinian state.