US-Saudi nuclear deal faces swift backlash on multiple fronts

The Trump administration faced immediate backlash from non-proliferation advocates and supporters of Israel on Wednesday after news broke of a nuclear cooperation deal signed between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

The agreement could eventually allow the Saudis to enrich uranium, raising fears the Gulf power could build a nuclear bomb. While Saudi Arabia has a friendly relationship with the Trump administration, it remains a rival of Israel in the region and has been accused of involvement in the 9/11 terrorist attack just 25 years ago. 

Critics are calling for congressional review of the deal signed Wednesday by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

“A bad U.S. nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia is coming for congressional review — inexplicably, carried over from the Biden administration,” Andrea Stricker, the nonproliferation program deputy director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, wrote on X.

“Congress should block it. If it does not, one hopes the policy will be reversed by a subsequent administration before too much damage is done in terms of watering down safeguards, setting negative precedents for other states, and failing to contain the spread of enrichment and reprocessing — which we just put back in the box in Iran via force,” she added.

The decades-long “peaceful” deal, which includes “bilateral safeguards,” was designed to solidify ties between Washington and Riyadh and provide the U.S. nuclear industry with billions of dollars. 

It’s a departure from the gold standard that was adopted in the U.S.-United Arab Emirates nuclear accord in 2009, in which the Emirates agreed to not enrich uranium and allow for inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The so-called 123 Agreement is designed to create a framework for U.S. companies to assist Saudi Arabia in developing its civilian nuclear program. The Energy Department said it will create U.S. jobs, expand nuclear technology exports and “reinforce global nonproliferation standards.”

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