Nothing says "peaceful diplomacy" quite like handing out nuclear technology with conditions attached via social media post. President Trump, who has been laser focused on Middle Eastern affairs during his final term's second year, just dropped a bombshell (pun absolutely intended) about the freshly signed nuclear cooperation agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia, as Conservative Brief reported.
Here's the deal. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman put pen to paper on Wednesday, inking an agreement that would let American companies build and run commercial nuclear power plants over in the kingdom. They also signed a separate safeguards agreement, because apparently one document wasn't enough paperwork for the occasion. Congress now gets 90 days to review everything, which should be plenty of time for absolutely everyone to have strong opinions about it.
The Energy Department says this thing could last decades and pump billions of dollars into economic activity. American companies would get first dibs on Saudi Arabia's civilian nuclear energy program, supplying reactors and fuel. Wright called it a reflection of "shared commitment" and promised the "highest standards" of nuclear safety while touting American technology. Sounds great on a press release!
But hold on. According to a memo obtained by NPR, the agreement conveniently skips what experts call the "gold standard" provisions. Those are the rules that would stop Saudi Arabia from enriching uranium or reprocessing nuclear fuel. It also doesn't require the kingdom to adopt beefed up oversight from the International Atomic Energy Agency. So basically, the guardrails are more like gentle suggestions.
Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, was already sounding alarms before the ink dried, posting on X that Congress should only greenlight a deal matching the safeguards in our arrangement with the UAE. He also pointed out the irony of a President waging war to stop nuclear proliferation simultaneously making it easier for countries to get their hands on nuclear capabilities, all so American companies can turn a profit. Fair point, Brad.
Then Trump jumped on Truth Social to lay down his big condition. He declared the deal would only get his blessing if Saudi Arabia agrees to join the Abraham Accords. He also insisted there would be zero enrichment of material and that everything stays limited to civilian, non military purposes. Because if there's one thing that reassures the international community, it's a Truth Social post in all caps.
Matthew Bunn, a nuclear proliferation expert over at Harvard's Kennedy School, told NPR this whole arrangement might complicate efforts to negotiate reasonably with Iran. You know, the country we're already in a tense standoff with. Great timing.
The administration's memo does emphasize that the U.S. opposes Saudi nuclear weapons development and that the agreement sticks to peaceful civilian energy cooperation. It also clarifies that nothing in the deal actually requires transferring nuclear fuel cycle capabilities to the Saudis. So we signed an agreement that technically doesn't obligate us to do the thing the agreement is about. Washington, ladies and gentlemen.
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