A long-awaited civilian nuclear cooperation agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia was thrown into uncertainty less than 24 hours after it was signed, after President Donald Trump imposed a new condition requiring Riyadh to join the Abraham Accords.

The agreement was formally signed on Wednesday at the US Department of Energy headquarters in Washington after years of negotiations. Energy Secretary Chris Wright participated in the ceremony alongside Saudi officials, with the event marking what had been presented as a significant milestone in bilateral relations.

Deal Signed After Years of Negotiations

Saudi Arabia had secured many of its key objectives in the agreement, including provisions that would eventually allow uranium enrichment on Saudi soil under specific conditions. The deal also did not require Riyadh to adopt the International Atomic Energy Agency's Additional Protocol, a more stringent inspection framework.

However, on Thursday morning Trump announced on social media that the agreement would only proceed if Saudi Arabia normalised diplomatic relations with Israel by joining the Abraham Accords. He also rejected suggestions that the deal would permit uranium enrichment.

Internal Dispute Over Rollout

According to sources familiar with the matter, Trump was already unhappy that the agreement had been unveiled without his direct involvement. The sources said the president had not been informed by Wright that the signing ceremony would take place when it did.

Confusion spread inside the administration as White House officials and the Energy Department offered differing accounts of how the announcement had been handled. Some White House officials argued they had asked the Energy Department to delay the rollout, while others maintained the agreement had not yet been finalised because required notifications to Congress had not been sent.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said the administration had always viewed Saudi participation in the Abraham Accords as a requirement for the nuclear agreement.

The Energy Department rejected suggestions of poor coordination, calling reports of internal disagreement "fake news" and insisting negotiations and the announcement had been closely coordinated with both the White House and the State Department.

Questions about the deal dominated Thursday's White House press briefing, where Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described Trump as the administration's "final dealmaker" and defended the president's decision.

Criticism from Experts and Conservatives

The agreement also drew criticism from nuclear non-proliferation experts, who expressed concern over provisions allowing uranium enrichment and the absence of stronger international inspection safeguards.

Supporters argued the agreement would strengthen US influence over Saudi Arabia's civilian nuclear programme while preventing Riyadh from turning to China or Russia for nuclear cooperation.

Conservative media outlets also questioned the agreement. The Wall Street Journal's editorial board criticised the absence of any requirement for Saudi Arabia to normalise relations with Israel before receiving nuclear cooperation. Fox News hosts similarly questioned why the arrangement appeared to differ from proposals considered during Joe Biden's presidency.

Sources told CNN that this criticism influenced Trump's decision to halt the agreement in its existing form.

Regional Diplomacy Remains Central

The nuclear agreement is the latest chapter in nearly two decades of US-Saudi nuclear negotiations. A tentative understanding had been reached in late 2025, but concerns over regional tensions and possible congressional opposition delayed progress.

Following Trump's intervention, some observers speculated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged the president to tie the agreement to Saudi recognition of Israel. Two Israeli sources said Netanyahu hoped such a condition would be included.

The White House said Trump had not spoken with Netanyahu before announcing the new requirement and insisted the president was simply restating a long-standing policy position.

Saudi Arabia has consistently maintained that it cannot establish diplomatic relations with Israel without a credible pathway towards Palestinian statehood, making the newly imposed condition a significant obstacle to the agreement's future.

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25 July 2026

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Deal or no deal? Would you buy a used car from this guy?

Bibi told him not to do it so he had to cancel it. Bibi wants the only nukes in the region.

Signed on Wednesday, derailed on Thursday - is Taco Tuesday no longer sacred?

Trump - more and quicker flip-flops than a super computer.

Why would anyone with half a brain ever sign any deal on anything with Trump?

Money not enough....😁

It's called "Art of the deal" agree a deal , then 24 hours later add new conditions

and it's not even TACO Tuesday , no wonder the World does not trust this man,

and no wonder no allies joined his illegal war ,he would have walked away and

blame them for the mess he has caused ... now it's all on him and he has no idea

what to do ,

regards worgeordie

Contrary to the rather silly image that he's been able to develop over the decades, Trump could not negotiate his way out of a paper bag if the lives of himself, and his entire family depended upon it.

You're starting to realize he's just a spoiled rich kid with an inheritance who doesn't give a <deleted> about anyone else but himself. 😂

I am the best deal breaker maker the world has ever seen. No one can make deals better than me. Everyone in the world wants so bad to make a deal with me. This will be a deal better than any in the history of deals, a deal never seen before. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Posts with derogatory nicknames, intentional misspellings, or personal remarks will be removed. Spell names correctly for all sides of the debate.

They should just keep him uninformed like they tried to do, he has no clue how to negotiate or stick, make a deal. He’s completely lost the plot and if they just put what he wants to see in front of him and keep the real deal away from him then we’d be doing much better. He’s just a spoiled rich loon that gets upset when he doesn’t get exactly what he wants. That’s not a good businessman or president.

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He is 80 years old and all politicians at that age should be retired. All the more so since the average age of active members of the US population is 40, which is half the age of their president.

Every word this convicted criminal utters, every action he takes, drives the markets up or down. Every up or down is an opportunity to enrich him and his. No opportunity is ever wasted. F*** everyone else. Everywhere.

28 minutes ago, Look Chang said:

He is 80 years old and all politicians at that age should be retired.

Depends on the 80 year old.

Age does not bring wisdom.

Learning that you're wrong does, i.e. recognizing "gaps" between reality and beliefs

The trouble is stupid people think they're always right.

There are no gaps. 😄

Dumb people think if they keep repeating bull<deleted> it was magically come true one day.

Donald "Purple Unicorns Are Real" Trump was pretty dumb at age 40, he's not a bit smarter at 80.

No idea what all the fuss is about. The deal was always dependent on Saudi Arabia signing the Abraham Accords. The US Department of Energy seems to have got a bit ahead of itself on this one.

9 hours ago, Jim Waldron said:

Deal or no deal? Would you buy a used car from this guy?

An Edsel in every garage and Tricky Dicky in the White House. Change of career...

It's a beaut! I'd drive one today! Must be reliable too. Salesman told me so, name of Dick. $120 bucks was pretty steep but it's got a drive-off guarantee!

Edited July 25Jul 25 by unblocktheplanet
add

3 hours ago, Look Chang said:

He is 80 years old and all politicians at that age should be retired. All the more so since the average age of active members of the US population is 40, which is half the age of their president.

There certainly should be an expiration date. Perhaps 40 is to young to start. How about 45 with expiry at 60?

1 hour ago, Thingamabob said:

No idea what all the fuss is about. The deal was always dependent on Saudi Arabia signing the Abraham Accords. The US Department of Energy seems to have got a bit ahead of itself on this one.

When Israel obeys the Abraham Accords and honours the 1948 borders, maybe other countries will have some respect. As of now, Israel has only proved itself a murdering, raping pre-emptive aggressor. Israel will be kept in check or die trying. They are certainly the most dangerous country with a bomb. We wouldn't even know about the bomb if Mordechai Vanunu hadn't blown the whistle. Israel has persecuted him ever since.

2 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

When Israel obeys the Abraham Accords and honours the 1948 borders, maybe other countries will have some respect. As of now, Israel has only proved itself a murdering, raping pre-emptive aggressor. Israel will be kept in check or die trying. They are certainly the most dangerous country with a bomb. We wouldn't even know about the bomb if Mordechai Vanunu hadn't blown the whistle. Israel has persecuted him ever since.

Trump Derails Saudi Nuclear Deal Within 24 Hours

14 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

When Israel obeys the Abraham Accords and honours the 1948 borders, maybe other countries will have some respect. As of now, Israel has only proved itself a murdering, raping pre-emptive aggressor. Israel will be kept in check or die trying. They are certainly the most dangerous country with a bomb. We wouldn't even know about the bomb if Mordechai Vanunu hadn't blown the whistle. Israel has persecuted him ever since.

I repeat, the successful conclusion of negotiations will not be reached until Saudi Arabia agrees to, and signs, the Abraham Accords.

2 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

I repeat, the successful conclusion of negotiations will not be reached until Saudi Arabia agrees to, and signs, the Abraham Accords.

Hasnt the deal alredy been signed ?

24 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

Hasnt the deal alredy been signed ?

Yes indeed, but without any notification to Congress and without, apparently, notification to the President's office. How on earth this is going to be unravelled remains to be seen.

3 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

Yes indeed, but without any notification to Congress and without, apparently, notification to the President's office. How on earth this is going to be unravelled remains to be seen.

Trump needs to spend less time trying to get his photo taken with World Cup winners and more time in the negotiating room .

8 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

Trump needs to spend less time trying to get his photo taken with World Cup winners and more time in the negotiating room .

Fair comment.

7 hours ago, worgeordie said:

It's called "Art of the deal" agree a deal , then 24 hours later add new conditions

and it's not even TACO Tuesday , no wonder the World does not trust this man,

and no wonder no allies joined his illegal war ,he would have walked away and

blame them for the mess he has caused ... now it's all on him and he has no idea

what to do ,

regards worgeordie

Blind leading the blind

You could say he is a macro-micro-manager!

12 hours ago, mfd101 said:

Why would anyone with half a brain ever sign any deal on anything with Trump?

The Saudis apparently.