The United States and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday signed a “peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement” that officials touted as the basis for a decadeslong multibillion-dollar partnership advancing shared economic and strategic objectives.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said he signed the deal with Saudi Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman and argued the agreement would advance U.S. and regional security, uphold high standards of nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation, and strengthen Washington’s competitive edge in civil nuclear technology. The deal, which is now being transmitted to Congress for review, has already stoked fears in Israel that it could allow the enrichment of uranium to build nuclear weapons and trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, as Israel is the only major power in the region believed to possess nuclear weapons.
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“These agreements reflect our two nations’ shared commitment to strengthening U.S.-Saudi commercial relations, delivering prosperity at home and security to our allies abroad,” Wright wrote in a statement. “Rest assured, these agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and nonproliferation, while relying on the world’s best nuclear technology and scientists, designed right here in the United States. Thanks to President Trump, the American nuclear renaissance is underway and will deliver long-term benefits to the American and Saudi people.”
The commercial nuclear deal could allow Saudi Arabia to have a civilian nuclear program on its soil in cooperation with U.S. companies. A civilian program would technically fuel things such as AI data centers, not military weapons programs. During a trip to the Philippines, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to reassure that the U.S. “is not going to reach any agreement with any country in the world that leads to the risk of proliferation.”
In public statements, Israeli officials expressed reserved hope for the deal and scaled back concerns it could destabilize the nuclear status quo and escalate tensions. Nir Barkat, Israel’s minister of economy, said in a radio interview Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump “know how to maneuver without taking risks.” He also said normalizing ties with Saudi Arabia was “still on the table,” which the U.S. is pushing to accomplish through the Abraham Accords.
“If they want it for peaceful purposes — we can manage it. The Americans do not want to endanger Israel,” Barkat said.
Israel’s heritage minister, Amichay Eliyahu, said Israel will do “as much as [it] can” to ensure no Middle Eastern country develops a nuclear weapon. Saudi Arabia “today is in a good direction, [but] tomorrow it could reverse on us,” he told Israeli public broadcaster Kan.
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But Avigdor Liberman, an Israeli politician who served as defense minister from 2016 to 2018, issued a warning.
“Every military nuclear program begins with a civilian one,” he said, claiming that the deal could lead to a regional arms race to develop a nuclear bomb.
