President Donald Trump has approved a nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia that could eventually permit the kingdom to enrich uranium for civilian nuclear energy purposes, according to sources familiar with the decision who requested anonymity. The administration is expected to announce the deal publicly in the coming days.
The agreement would run for 30 years and include substantial involvement by American companies in developing Saudi Arabia's civilian nuclear infrastructure. It envisions the possible construction of a uranium enrichment facility within the kingdom following a joint U.S.-Saudi feasibility study.
Both Trump and his predecessor, President Joe Biden, had pursued agreements to enable the United States to share civilian nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia.
Nuclear nonproliferation experts have raised concerns that permitting Saudi Arabia to operate uranium enrichment centrifuges could create a pathway to future nuclear weapons capability. Those worries have been amplified by previous statements from Saudi Arabia's crown prince suggesting the kingdom could pursue nuclear weapons if Iran obtained an atomic bomb.
Recent regional developments have intensified these concerns. Following Israel's attack on Qatar targeting Hamas officials, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which possesses nuclear weapons, established a mutual defense pact. Pakistan's defense minister stated that his country's nuclear arsenal "will be made available" To Saudi Arabia if necessary, a comment widely interpreted as a warning toward Israel, which is widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed nation.
While uranium enrichment alone does not produce a nuclear weapon, it represents a significant step toward that capability. Additional technologies, including synchronized high explosives, must also be mastered, but enrichment is widely considered a gateway to weaponization. This concern has long underpinned Western opposition to Iran's nuclear program.
The Saudi agreement differs from the arrangement previously reached with the United Arab Emirates, which built a nuclear power plant with South Korean assistance while committing not to enrich uranium domestically. Nonproliferation experts have regarded that model as the "gold standard" For nations seeking civilian nuclear energy while limiting proliferation risks.