Trump submits US-Saudi civil nuclear pact to Congress for review
President Trump has sent a classified civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress for review, while still insisting the deal won't proceed unless Riyadh normalises ties with Israel.
An administration official has confirmed that the White House submitted a classified document on Monday outlining a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, filed under requirements of the Atomic Energy Act. The information was shared by the official, a congressional aide, and two other people familiar with the matter, all speaking anonymously since they were not authorised to discuss the classified pact publicly.
The agreement itself was signed last month in Washington by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart. The following day, however, Trump announced a new condition: the deal would only move forward if Saudi Arabia joined the Abraham Accords and normalised relations with Israel. It remains unclear whether that condition is spelled out within the classified text now before Congress.
Under the Atomic Energy Act, lawmakers have 90 days of continuous session to review the pact. If neither chamber passes a joint resolution rejecting it during that window, the agreement can take effect without any formal vote. Observers note it is unusual for an entire such agreement to be classified at this level — previous so-called 123 agreements with other nations have generally been made public, even when accompanied by classified annexes.
The Saudi embassy in Washington had no immediate comment. Trump's insistence on normalisation caught Saudi officials off guard and drew criticism from some US lawmakers, who worry the arrangement could ultimately help Saudi Arabia pursue uranium enrichment capabilities, raising proliferation concerns. Saudi officials, for their part, have said normalising ties with Israel would require a credible path toward Palestinian statehood — an idea Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected as incompatible with his country's security.
If ultimately approved, the agreement is expected to run for 30 years and would involve American companies in developing Saudi Arabia's nuclear program following a joint US-Saudi study.
