chairman Donald Trump’s The administration is reportedly ready to announce a comprehensive nuclear cooperation agreement saudi arabia. deal It could allow it to enrich its own uranium, a concession that has many immediately concerned about Iran as well.
Questions are being raised on Donald Trump’s new Saudi Arabia nuclear deal.
Officials claim the deal will be formally signed on Wednesday, opening the door to billions of dollars for the US nuclear industry. But in a departure from decades of US nonproliferation policy, the agreement raises questions: Will it stabilize the Middle East or fuel a regional arms race?
This agreement, known as the 123 Agreement, establishes a legally binding framework for civil nuclear cooperation. Importantly, Saudi Arabia is not required to enrich uranium on its soil or abandon the reprocessing of plutonium. Instead, the state could eventually produce its own nuclear fuel after a joint economic study with Washington.
This is a major break from the “gold standard” set by a 2009 agreement with the United Arab Emirates. That agreement mandated strict international inspections and explicitly prohibited domestic fuel production. The kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, secured terms that his Emirati neighbors never enjoyed.
This time is inextricably linked with the Iran war. After withdrawing from the Obama-era nuclear deal in 2018, Donald Trump ordered the US military to join Israel in attacking Iran’s nuclear sites in June 2025. A widespread conflict broke out this February. Saudi Arabia, which relies on US interceptor missiles to shoot down Iranian projectiles, has watched the regional firefight with growing unease.
Prince Mohammed has vowed that he would build nuclear weapons “without any doubt” if Iran crossed the border first. Meanwhile, Tehran has enriched uranium to near weapons-grade levels since Trump abandoned diplomatic barriers.
Overall, the agreement bypasses the old framework that linked nuclear cooperation to Saudi recognition of Israel. That possibility collapsed after Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. Trump completely separated the two issues.
(Source: the new York Times)
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu Mandatory.