Saudis must recognise Israel for nuclear deal, says Trump

In 2020, Trump brokered the Abraham Accords, which secured the historic normalization of relations between Israel and two Arab countries, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.

Sudan, Morocco and Kazakhstan also signed the agreement.

Saudi Arabia has so far not responded to Trump’s remarks.

The agreement, announced Wednesday, is described by the US energy department as a “peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement” that will give “American companies greater access to the Saudi nuclear energy program.”

The nuclear issue is at the center of the US-Israeli months-long conflict with Iran.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, told CBS News in 2018 that his country was not planning to obtain nuclear weapons but that “without a doubt, if Iran develops a nuclear bomb, we will do the same as soon as possible.”

Previous reports in the US media had suggested that the agreement could allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium, which can be used as fuel for power plants in the future and could also potentially be used in the production of nuclear bombs. But Trump’s statements seem to deny this.

The agreement will now be sent to the US Congress for review.

Some lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are expected to oppose the deal, but Trump’s Republican Party controls both the upper and lower chambers and opponents of the deal do not appear to have the votes needed to block it.