Saudi Arabia Nuclear Deal Awaits Trump Approval
Sandego.net – The nuclear deal that would permit Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium remains pending presidential approval, according to sources familiar with the matter. The Trump administration has tentatively agreed to allow Riyadh to enrich uranium without enacting international safeguards intended to prevent nuclear weapons development. The draft accord outlining US support for the kingdom’s civilian nuclear program is awaiting President Donald Trump’s signature despite negotiations concluding in October 2025.
Why the Delay?
Two sources indicated that the ongoing war with Iran has played a role in delaying Trump’s signature. According to Trump, the conflict was launched in part to prevent Tehran from using its enriched uranium to build nuclear weapons. Some on Capitol Hill also believe the administration is delaying sign-off because it could face a bipartisan disapproval resolution blocking the deals from going into effect.
Experts told CNN the nuclear deal that would permit enrichment could potentially provide Saudi Arabia with a path to nuclear weapons unless stringent safeguards are put in place. The country’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has previously threatened to build his own nuclear weapons should Iran, his country’s principal regional rival, acquire the bomb.
Four sources said the agreement, which includes a civil nuclear cooperation deal known as a 123 agreement and a mandatory nuclear safeguards agreement, still have not been sent to Congress for review, as federal law requires the White House to do once signed. The White House did not answer questions regarding the agreements and instead referred CNN to an October 2025 statement from Energy Secretary Chris Wright announcing the end of negotiations.
“We’ve come together on a deal for civil nuclear cooperation,” Wright said at the time. “Together, with bilateral safeguard agreements, we want to grow our partnership, bring American nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia and keep a firm commitment to nonproliferation.”
The nuclear deal that would permit uranium enrichment includes stipulations imposed by the US, two sources told CNN, but details of potential limitations are unclear. The 123 agreement also will not provide the final word on whether Saudi Arabia gets sensitive technology and material. The agreement is a baseline legal framework for US companies (or the government) to transfer nuclear material and technology to the recipient country’s civilian nuclear program.
Those transfers are subject to additional review. Uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing are the two main pathways to create the core material necessary to build nuclear weapons. Most countries whose civilian nuclear reactors require enriched uranium don’t produce it domestically — they instead purchase the material from vendors like the US or Russia and receive it in sealed shipments under strict international supervision.
But the draft agreement also does not require Saudi Arabia to adopt a standard enhanced nuclear safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, known as the Additional Protocol, according to a waiver submitted to Congress last year by the administration and a May State Department letter to lawmakers, both reviewed by CNN. Instead, the safeguards deal will be only between the US and the kingdom. The IAEA is the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency, charged with preventing rogue nuclear weapons development by verifying countries’ commitments under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or NPT.
The agency does so through methods such as monitoring technology, in-person inspections, and open-source analysis. The administration, in its 2025 waiver report to Congress, said that the draft bilateral US-Saudi safeguards agreement “employs additional safeguards and verifications measures to the most proliferation-sensitive areas … enrichment, conversion, fuel fabrication, and reprocessing.” Without providing specific details, the waiver report said the IAEA would play a role in safeguarding the Saudi nuclear program and asserted that “the IAEA would have the necessary tools” for their work but would not have standardized IAEA oversight via the Additional Protocol. Both the enrichment and reprocessing potential and the lack of enhanced IAEA commitment immediately raised concerns among many members on Capitol Hill, according to a source familiar.
The Saudi deal stands in contrast to the 2009 agreement between the US and the United Arab Emirates, whereby the
