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Trump administration submits U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear agreement to Congress

The proposed 30-year pact initiates a mandatory congressional review, but President Trump maintains it is contingent on Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel.

Updated Aug 26, 2026 · 04:23 UTC4 reports

The short version

  • The Trump administration formally transmitted a classified civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress for review.
  • President Donald Trump reiterated that the deal will not move forward unless Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords and normalizes diplomatic relations with Israel.
  • Congress has 90 days of continuous session to review the pact under the Atomic Energy Act, after which it takes effect unless rejected by a joint resolution.
  • Critical uncertainties remain around whether Saudi Arabia will fulfill the normalization requirement and how the agreement treats domestic uranium enrichment.

Key facts

  • The proposed civil nuclear cooperation agreement was formally submitted to Congress on Monday under Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act.[France 24 · CNBC · Associated Press · ABC News]
  • U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman finalized and signed the deal in Washington in July 2026.[France 24 · Associated Press · ABC News]
  • A Trump administration official confirmed that implementation of the pact remains strictly contingent on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords to normalize ties with Israel.[France 24 · CNBC · Associated Press · ABC News]
  • The review period spans 90 days of continuous session across the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee, though the review clock can be paused.[France 24 · CNBC · Associated Press · ABC News]
  • The 30-year proposed deal would allow U.S. firms to export nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia and potentially construct AP1000 reactors.[France 24 · CNBC · Associated Press]
  • The entire agreement was submitted to Congress as a fully classified document, which is unusual compared to prior 123 agreements.[France 24 · Associated Press]

What remains uncertain

  • It is unclear if Saudi Arabia will agree to normalize relations with Israel, as Riyadh maintains that establishing a path to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.[France 24 · CNBC · Associated Press · ABC News]
  • Contradictory statements exist on uranium enrichment: President Trump claimed there will be no domestic enrichment, while unnamed U.S. officials previously stated the text leaves open the possibility of future Saudi enrichment.[CNBC · ABC News]
  • It is unknown whether President Trump's requirement linking the nuclear pact to the Abraham Accords is explicitly written into the classified document provided to Congress.[France 24 · Associated Press]

Sources