Trump Adds New Condition to US-Saudi Nuclear Deal

The US-Saudi Arabia nuclear deal is facing trouble just after it was announced. President Donald Trump has added a new condition.

On Thursday, Mr Trump said the deal, which lets Saudi Arabia develop a civilian nuclear program, now depends on Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords. This condition was not mentioned before.

Mr Trump also said the agreement would not allow uranium enrichment. "The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!)… which pertains only to non-military use… will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords," he wrote on Truth Social.

The Abraham Accords are agreements made during Mr Trump’s first term. They helped several Arab countries to start diplomatic relations with Israel.

Mr Trump’s statement followed criticism from experts about the lack of a normalization agreement. The deal has also upset Israel, which wants to have normal relations with Saudi Arabia.

Israel, which has nuclear weapons but does not officially acknowledge it, fears that this deal could lead Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium for a nuclear bomb. This could upset the balance of power in the Middle East and lead to an arms race.

The deal comes during rising tensions with Iran. There have been disagreements over the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s uranium enrichment activities.

Many details of the deal are still unclear, but it aims for "peaceful nuclear cooperation." It is a 30-year deal worth billions of dollars that targets the energy needs of the oil-rich nation.

This bill is signed under US law that allows sharing US nuclear technology while trying to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mr Trump’s comments were not a surprise. She said this condition had been talked about with Saudi leaders many times before.

"He has said if they don’t join the Abraham Accords, the deal is off," she said. "So we’ll continue to have those conversations with our Saudi counterparts moving forward."

Saudi Arabia has not yet responded to this new condition.

Analysts believe it is unlikely Saudi Arabia will agree to this. The kingdom has been clear that recognizing Palestinian statehood is a must before normalizing relations with Israel.