Trump signs civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, ties it to Israel relations

The United States and Saudi Arabia have signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement that comes with a very large string attached: Riyadh must normalize relations with Israel, or the whole thing falls apart.

What the deal actually includes

The agreement, formally known as a “123 agreement” (named after Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act), was signed on July 22, 2026, by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. It permits American companies to supply civilian nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia over the next 30 years.

At the center of the commercial opportunity are AP1000 reactors, an advanced pressurized water reactor design. Westinghouse, the company behind the AP1000, stands to gain tens of billions of dollars from construction contracts if the deal proceeds.

The agreement also opens the door to uranium enrichment on Saudi soil, though that element would be subject to a joint study rather than an immediate green light. Trump himself seemed to draw a line on that front, posting that “there will be no enrichment of material” for non-military uses.

On August 25, 2026, the administration formally transmitted the agreement to Congress, starting a 90-session-day review period.

The Israel condition

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the nuclear deal will be “null and void” if Saudi Arabia does not normalize relations with Israel by joining the Abraham Accords.

The Abraham Accords, originally brokered during Trump’s first term, established diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed the condition, framing it as an opportunity to enhance the broader architecture for peace in the region.

Saudi Arabia has consistently maintained that it will not normalize relations with Israel without meaningful commitments related to Palestinian statehood. That demand has been the primary sticking point, and the nuclear agreement doesn’t appear to resolve it.

What to watch during the review period

Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee have previously expressed reservations about any nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that doesn’t include a so-called “gold standard” prohibition on enrichment and reprocessing. The UAE agreed to such restrictions in its own 123 agreement, setting a benchmark that Saudi Arabia has long resisted matching.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has signaled openness to Israel ties in the past, but the Palestinian statehood condition has remained firm, particularly after the conflict in Gaza heightened public sentiment across the Arab world.

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