Trump links Saudi nuclear deal to Abraham Accords

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday, July 23, 2026, that a newly signed U.S.-Saudi civilian nuclear cooperation agreement is now contingent on Saudi Arabia normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel by joining the Abraham Accords. The announcement, made via a social media post, came less than 24 hours after U.S. and Saudi officials formally signed the deal and appeared to add a significant condition not present in the original agreement.

The U.S. Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia’s energy minister signed the peaceful nuclear cooperation pact on Wednesday, July 22. The department described it as a decades-long arrangement that would grant American companies access to Saudi Arabia’s planned nuclear energy program, supporting U.S. industry and employment while upholding high nonproliferation standards. The initial announcement did not mention any linkage to Saudi-Israeli normalization, and sources familiar with the months-long negotiations said the topic of normalization was never discussed as a condition during the talks.

In his post on Thursday, Trump wrote, "The Civil Nuclear Deal... will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very...