U.S. President, Donald Trump, has formally approved a historic agreement with Saudi Arabia that will provide the country with a civil nuclear program and potentially open the door to uranium enrichment in the kingdom’s territory, according to Administration officials.
The new pact, which would last 30 years, is valued at tens of billions of dollars. It is designed to give American companies a central role in the development of Saudi Arabia’s nuclear infrastructure, while excluding other foreign competitors.
A key provision of the new agreement would allow American companies to build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia if a joint study between Washington and Riyadh determines that such a step would be justified.
That stipulation would give the United States influence over the Saudi nuclear program and, according to Trump Administration officials, would serve to prevent it from being used for military purposes.
However, the agreement, which is expected to be submitted to Congress for review in the coming days, promises to be controversial among many lawmakers who oppose the expansion of nuclear technology in the volatile Middle East region.
It will be difficult for Congress to block the pact, as doing so would require a joint resolution and a two-thirds majority in the event of an eventual presidential veto needing to be overcome.
Trump gave the green light to the agreement late last week and it is scheduled to be signed on Wednesday by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who already addressed the matter during his first foreign trip to the region in April 2025 with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, who will also sign the document.
“The agreement could help revitalize the American nuclear industry, strengthen ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and deny Russia and China a strategically important role in the Saudi nuclear program,” said Robert Einhorn, a former senior State Department official who advised both Republican and Democratic administrations on non-proliferation issues.
“But, if it does not include sufficient restrictions, especially on uranium enrichment, it could increase the risks of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East and beyond,” Einhorn added.
Saudi authorities have long argued that this agreement is necessary to allow the kingdom to develop its own nuclear industry, supported by uranium deposits whose viability has not yet been demonstrated, with the aim of trying to cover national energy demand. That would free up more of its oil production for export and increase revenue.
Saudi Arabia insists its intentions are peaceful, although Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto leader, stated in 2018 that if Iran were to develop a nuclear weapon, his country would follow suit.
Westinghouse Electric and its AP1000 reactor would be among the biggest beneficiaries of the agreement. This reactor produces about 1,100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power a medium-sized city or a large artificial intelligence data center.
One of the main focuses of the debate among lawmakers will be to determine whether the agreement’s safeguards are sufficient to prevent the development of a possible nuclear weapon at a time of great military tension in the Middle East.
Under the agreement, new power reactors and other nuclear technology would be supplied by American companies, although some of their foreign suppliers could play a secondary role.
As reactor construction progresses, U.S. and Saudi officials will conduct a two-year study to examine the value of uranium enrichment for Saudi Arabia, including whether it would be commercially viable to enrich uranium on Saudi soil rather than relying on imported fuel.
If the study concludes that domestic enrichment is justified, the Americans would build the facility under a confidential “black box” system, which would prevent the transfer of sensitive enrichment technology to Riyadh.
According to Trump Administration officials, this model would prevent enriched uranium from being diverted for military purposes and would also ensure that spent reactor fuel could not be reprocessed to make a bomb.
Read more It’s no country for children: “More and more people only see them as a nuisance”
If the United States opposed moving forward with enrichment after the study results were known, the kingdom would not be able to develop that capacity on its own or with another foreign partner for 10 years.
The U.S. government maintains that the central role of the United States in the Saudi nuclear program would ensure that enrichment remains peaceful.
But critics argue that providing Riyadh with a nuclear program, especially with uranium enrichment or plutonium reprocessing capabilities, would encourage the expansion of nuclear technology in the Middle East. Unlike the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia has rejected the so-called “gold standard,” which involves permanently renouncing domestic uranium enrichment and reprocessing of spent reactor fuel.
“If Saudi Arabia takes this step, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Egypt will follow suit. To think this will end well is delusional,” said Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center.
The debate over the Saudi nuclear deal has also intensified due to a dispute over future inspections.
Riyadh refused to adhere to the “Additional Protocol” of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a mechanism that would have allowed for a much more rigorous monitoring and inspection system. Washington maintains that the parallel agreement negotiated with the Saudis will ensure adequate oversight of facilities provided by the United States. Its detractors, however, believe that such a system will be insufficient to investigate possible clandestine nuclear activities outside of U.S. infrastructure.
Trump’s new agreement is also controversial for foreign policy reasons.
The Biden Administration was willing to move forward with nuclear cooperation with Riyadh, but conditioned that step on Saudi Arabia normalizing its relations with Israel. That possibility was virtually paralyzed after the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 and the subsequent Israeli military intervention in Gaza.
Although Trump has urged Saudi Arabia and other Islamic states to join the Abraham Accords, he does not require Riyadh to establish relations with Israel as a condition for acquiring U.S. nuclear technology and launching its civil nuclear program.
The Saudi deal also comes as the White House continues to pressure Iran to limit its nuclear program and surrender its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are regional rivals, and critics say the pact puts the Trump Administration in an awkward position: demanding that Tehran accept strict limits on its nuclear efforts while helping Riyadh develop a civil nuclear program. U.S. officials respond that there is no contradiction as long as the Saudi program is subject to effective safeguards.
“You can be sure that these agreements respect the highest standards of nuclear safety and non-proliferation, relying also on the best nuclear technology and scientists in the world, developed right here in the United States,” Wright said in a statement. “Thanks to President Trump, the American nuclear renaissance is underway and will bring lasting benefits to both the American and Saudi people.”
Both Democratic and Republican presidents have long resisted efforts by Middle Eastern countries to enrich uranium. However, those who oppose the agreement will find it very difficult to block it in Congress.
Some lawmakers have argued that a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia is such a sensitive matter that it should be subject to a stricter approval procedure. In 2018, a group of Democratic and Republican lawmakers pushed for a law to prevent nuclear cooperation with Riyadh unless Congress expressly approved it by vote.
One of the senators who advocated for this greater hurdle was then-Republican Senator from Florida Marco Rubio, now Trump’s Secretary of State. It was never put to a vote.
*Content licensed from The Wall Street Journal. Translated from English by Charlotte Davies.