Trump Links Saudi Civilian Nuclear Deal to Official Ties with Israel in Submittal to Congress

US President Donald Trump has officially submitted an agreement concerning a civilian nuclear programme with Saudi Arabia to Congress, though the pact is strictly conditioned upon the kingdom establishing official diplomatic relations with Israel.

According to a Trump administration official speaking to The National, the document was transmitted to Congress by the Department of Energy pursuant to the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The official emphasized that the President's stance remains firm: the agreement will exclusively advance if Saudi Arabia becomes a participant in the Abraham Accords.

First reported by Reuters, the agreement was sent to Congress on a Monday. Finalised in July, the pact is designed to permit US companies to export civilian nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia while further strengthening the bilateral partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

This condition marks a distinct evolution from previous administration stances, which had suggested that Saudi-Israeli normalisation and the nuclear pact could progress independently. The original Abraham Accords, negotiated during the first term of Mr Trump in 2020, facilitated agreements between Israel and the UAE as well as Bahrain, with Morocco and Sudan subsequently joining.

Efforts to integrate Saudi Arabia into the accords were also pursued by President Joe Biden. Nevertheless, Riyadh has consistently maintained that normalisation relies heavily upon establishing a credible pathway toward a Palestinian state. Discussions surrounding a potential Saudi-Israeli pact neared fruition in 2023 before experiencing a halt following the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent conflict in Gaza.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government of Israel have shown enthusiasm for normalising relations with Saudi Arabia, they continue to resist Palestinian statehood.

Under the review process, Congress is granted 90 legislative days to examine the nuclear agreement. Unless members formally reject the pact during this timeframe, it will automatically take effect. Should Congress attempt a rejection, Mr Trump retains the authority to veto the resolution, which would necessitate a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress to override—a threshold complicated by the narrow majorities held by Mr Trump’s Republican Party in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.