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U.S. nuclear power deal with Saudi Arabia faces criticism in Israel
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Emily Feng
With a photograph of himself on the wall as part of "The Presidential Hall of Fame," President Trump gives Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia a tour of the White House on Nov. 18, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
President Trump said on Thursday that a new nuclear energy deal with Saudi Arabia will require the Arab kingdom to normalize relations with Israel. That marked a turn, a day after the administration announced the signing of the agreement without mentioning that precondition.
The Saudi kingdom has long insisted it will not normalize relations with Israel until there is a clear pathway to establish a Palestinian state. The Israeli government strongly opposes Palestinian statehood.
"Does a social post supersede a signed diplomatic agreement? I think this is one of the frustrations that other countries have had with the United States," said Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
"Saudi Arabia's joining of the Abraham Accords would be an historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East. Peace through Strength," the Israeli prime minister's office said in an online statement. It did not mention the nuclear energy deal.
"Saudi insistence on enrichment in Saudi Arabia ... was the thing that got [previous] negotiations stuck and U.S. administrations, one after another, did not permit enrichment," Guzansky said.
That's his job.
does not forbid the kingdom from using American technology to enrich uranium or other nuclear fuel provided by third countries.
Saudi Arabia has been angling for nuclear cooperation with the U.S. for at least a decade, but concerns about the kingdom's human rights abuses and its possible aspirations to develop a nuclear weapon in the future stalled that cooperation.
"Trump's and Secretary Rubio's hypocrisy is matched only by their recklessness. They are allowing Saudi Arabia, a belligerent and authoritarian nation, to develop nuclear weapons technologies while starting a war with Iran under the guise of preventing an Iranian nuclear bomb," Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who co-sponsored the 2019 bill with Rubio, wrote in a statement in response to the nuclear agreement.
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− Trump said in an online post that the deal "will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords." The U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, beginning in Trump's first term in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and a series of countries including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
+ Trump said in an online post that the deal "will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords." The U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, beginning in Trump's first term in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and a series of countries, including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
− Saudi Arabia did not immediately comment on the condition, and it was unclear how it might affect the deal, which still needs to be reviewed by U.S.
+ World Trump administration signs commercial nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to NPR's request for comment.
− Congress.
+ It is unclear how the new condition might affect the deal.
− "No one in Washington really knows how it's going to work."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters President Trump had previously spoken about the importance of joining the Abraham Accords with Gulf and Arab allies. She said the deal with Saudi Arabia is now contingent on this condition and the administration will continue conversations with Saudi officials.
+ "No one in Washington really knows how it's going to work."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that President Trump did not speak to Saudi leadership before posting the condition on social media, but said he has previously spoken about the importance of joining the Abraham Accords with Gulf and Arab allies.
− Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Trump's addition of the condition of Saudi Arabia joining accords that would establish relations with Israel.
+ "This deal with Saudi Arabia, the energy deal, is contingent on this condition, as far as the president is concerned, so, we'll continue to talk with our Saudi counterparts to get the deal finalized and hopefully see them join the Abraham Accords very soon," Leavitt said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Trump's condition that Saudi Arabia join the accords that would establish relations with Israel.
− This is a developing story that will be updated.
+ Politics For a 2nd time, House approves resolution to end the war in Iran in a rebuke to Trump The nuclear cooperation agreement, signed on Wednesday by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, would give U.S. companies priority access to supply nuclear reactors and fuel to develop a Saudi nuclear energy program, according to a Trump administration memo about the agreement seen by NPR.
− A previous version of the story updated at 7:48 a.m.
+ The administration says it will submit the deal to Congress, which has 90 days to review it.
− ET follows.
+ Congress can object to the deal, but it would need a two-thirds majority to override a likely presidential veto.
− TEL AVIV, Israel — An agreement for U.S.
+ Saudi Arabia is one of the world's largest oil producers, but the Gulf state wants to pivot to other fuel sources.
World Saudi Arabia's Ambitious Economic Overhaul Hinges On Reducing Its Oil 'Addiction' "They want to build huge energy-intensive industries, data centers, desalination.
− companies to build and run nuclear energy plants in Saudi Arabia was met with alarm in Israel on Thursday, as the U.S.
+ And they're actually burning their own crude oil up to 1.4 million barrels a day at the height of the summer to do that," Daniel Benaim, a former State Department official who worked on Gulf issues, told NPR's Morning Edition.
− and Iran continued to trade strikes in the latest escalation engulfing the Persian Gulf.
World Trump administration signs commercial nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia The nuclear cooperation agreement, signed on Wednesday by the Trump administration with Saudi Arabia, gives American companies priority access to supply nuclear reactors and fuel to the Saudi nuclear energy program, according to an administration memo about the agreement seen by NPR.
+ "They want to use their crude oil for exports to make revenue and then find other energy sources to fuel their own economic transformation domestically."
Guests stand at the booth of Saudi Arabia's Aramco oil company during the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Nov.
− The agreement must be reviewed by Congress, which has 90 days to consider it.
Saudi Arabia is one of the world's largest oil producers, but the Gulf state has been trying to pivot to other energy sources.
+ 3, 2025.
− Its nuclear energy program is expected to last decades and be worth billions of dollars, according to the Department of Energy.
+ Giuseppe Cacace/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Yet building a nuclear energy program also could raise the prospect of one day being able to create a nuclear bomb.
− Nuclear power would allow Saudi Arabia to use less petroleum energy domestically and maximize exports as well, Matthew Bunn, a nuclear proliferation expert at Harvard University, told NPR's All Things Considered.
+ "They also want to provide the foundation, over time, for having more options to move toward nuclear weapons, should they feel the need," Matthew Bunn, a nuclear proliferation expert at Harvard University, told NPR's All Things Considered.
− "But they also want to provide the foundation, over time, for having more options to move toward nuclear weapons, should they feel the need," Bunn said.
+ While Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said the kingdom does not want a nuclear weapon, he also has said it will pursue one if Iran develops a nuclear weapon.
− While Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has said the kingdom does not want a nuclear weapon, he also has said Riyadh will pursue one if Iran develops a nuclear weapon first.
+ Israeli political opposition leaders, former officials and analysts have expressed concerns about the Saudi nuclear energy deal.
− Yoel Guzansky, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel, said what he found alarming was that the agreement appeared to let Saudi Arabia enrich its own nuclear fuel in-country.
+ Israel itself conducts nuclear research, and is widely believed to have nuclear weapons despite a policy of nondisclosure. But it fears other countries in the region developing nuclear programs of their own.
+ Yoel Guzansky, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel, said he was alarmed that the agreement appeared to let Saudi Arabia enrich its own nuclear fuel in-country.
− He said the agreement may lead the United Arab Emirates to reverse course on its own deal with the U.S.
+ President Trump emphasized in his Truth Social post Thursday, "There will be no enrichment of material!" and added that "The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities."
Under an earlier deal with a Gulf state, the Obama administration's nuclear energy agreement with the United Arab Emirates in 2009, the UAE gave up the ability to enrich nuclear material on Emirati soil.
Guzansky said the Saudi agreement may lead the UAE to reverse course on its own deal, which allows it to ask for better terms if another regional country — such as Saudi Arabia — signs a nuclear energy agreement with the U.S.
− In the 2009 nuclear deal with the U.S., the UAE voluntarily gave up the ability to enrich nuclear fuel on Emirati soil, but the agreement allows it to ask for better terms if another regional country, such as Saudi Arabia, signs a nuclear energy agreement with the U.S. that contains more favorable conditions.
+ with more favorable conditions.
− "You know, everyone can blackmail the U.S.
+ "They'll say 'we want enrichment.
− They'll say we want enrichment. OK, if not enrichment, give me the F-35" fighter planes, Guzansky added.
+ OK, if not enrichment, give me the F-35'" fighter planes, Guzansky added.
− The deal was met with alarm in Israel, deepening concerns that Israel, a major American ally, and Trump are increasingly diverging on foreign policy and security.
Israel's former defense minister and foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman criticized the agreement on Israel's public broadcaster on Wednesday, saying it risked pulling the entire Middle East into an escalating nuclear arms race.
Ehud Barak, a former prime minister of Israel, told Israel's army-run radio station the agreement was a sign of the "loss of trust between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump."
Opposition leader Yair Lapid told an Israeli podcast: "I can't explain just how much this is a total failure of Netanyahu's.
+ Israel's former defense minister and foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, criticized the agreement on Israel's public broadcaster on Wednesday, saying it risked pulling the entire Middle East into an escalating nuclear "arms race."
Ehud Barak, a former prime minister of Israel, told the country's army-run radio station the agreement was a sign of the "loss of trust between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump."
Opposition leader Yair Lapid told an Israeli podcast: "I can't explain just how much this is a total failure of Netanyahu's.
− His job is to prevent a Saudi nuclear program."
The agreement is likely to deal a blow to Netanyahu and his Likud party ahead of general elections scheduled to be held in October.
+ His job is to prevent a Saudi nuclear program."
Prime Minister Netanyahu, who faces elections in October, has not commented on the agreement.
− Under the agreement, Saudi Arabia is not permitted to reprocess American nuclear material for weapons, but the deal and a bilateral security protocol with the U.S.
+ But Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat seemed to downplay the risks.
+ "If they want it for peaceful purposes, for energy needs, we can manage it, and we can also reach a peace agreement with them, God willing," Barkat said in a radio interview Wednesday. Speaking ahead of Trump's online announcement, Barkat was optimistic about "the condition that they [Saudi Arabia] join the Abraham Accords."
Under the agreement, Saudi Arabia is not permitted to reprocess U.S. nuclear material for weapons, but the deal and a bilateral security protocol with the U.S.
− It also does not require from Saudi Arabia to adopt terms that would lead to greater oversight from the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to the memo seen by NPR.
+ It also does not require Saudi Arabia to adopt terms that would lead to greater oversight from the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to the memo seen by NPR.
− The U.S.
+ Middle East conflict U.S.
− required these provisions, known as "gold standard," from the United Arab Emirates in a deal inked under the Obama administration in 2009.
+ and Iranian attacks continue as tensions mount on a key waterway in the Red Sea The U.S. required these provisions, known as a "gold standard," when it signed the UAE nuclear energy deal.
− Then-senator and now Secretary of State Marco Rubio co-sponsored a bipartisan bill in 2019 that would have banned nuclear energy cooperation with the U.S.
+ Secretary of State Marco Rubio, when he was still a senator, co-sponsored a bipartisan bill in 2019 that would have banned nuclear energy cooperation between the U.S.
− unless Saudi Arabia was transparent about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate and committed to the "gold standard" provision, forgoing uranium enrichment.
+ and Saudi Arabia unless the Saudis were "truthful and transparent" about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate and committed to the "gold standard" provision, forgoing uranium enrichment.
− The U.S.
+ Speaking to reporters in Manila on Thursday, Rubio said the Saudi deal has safeguards in place and that the U.S.
− Energy Department argues that the deal expands American technology exports.
+ wants to partner with countries looking to set up civil, peaceful nuclear energy.
− The agreement also ties the U.S.
+ The U.S.
− and Saudi Arabia, a key ally, closer together at a time when the Gulf states, including the Kingdom of Saud, have paid a heavy price for aligning with the U.S.
+ Energy Department argues that the deal expands U.S.
− The Arab Gulf states continue to be hit by Iranian drone and artillery strikes in a war with Iran that the U.S. began.
+ technology exports.
− Saudi Arabia, in particular, has had to contend with the economic shock of having to curtail its oil exports since Iran closed off the Strait of Hormuz and with Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels now attacking Saudi oil vessels in the Red Sea.
+ NPR's Jane Arraf contributed reporting from Amman, Jordan; Sawsan Khalife contributed from Haifa, Israel; Alex Leff contributed from Washington.
− U.S. Central Command said it struck Iranian military and logistics sites on Wednesday in the latest round of attacks. Iran said it responded by targeting three U.S. bases in Kuwait, as well as U.S. military infrastructure in Jordan and Qatar.
The Jordanian military said Thursday its country's air force shot down four missiles and six Iranian drones.
Middle East conflict U.S. and Iranian attacks continue as tensions mount on a key waterway in the Red Sea "The Islamic Republic of Iran's army has enhanced its preparations for every enemy scenario, and new scenarios have been predicted and worked on," Iranian military spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia told Iranian state-run media.
In the Red Sea, Yemen's Houthi rebels said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers. The Saudi state news agency said one of its tankers had been hit and was on fire. It said the crew was unharmed.
Civil war has split control of Yemen between the Houthi group Ansar Allah and an internationally recognized government supported by Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis have also launched attacks in support of Iran, and most recently warned Saudi Arabia that they will not allow its tankers through the key shipping route Bab el-Mandeb near the Red Sea.
NPR's Jane Arraf contributed reporting.