Israel fears US-Saudi nuclear deal could spark Middle East arms race

The United States and Saudi Arabia have finalized a sweeping civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, and the region’s most anxious observer is not Iran. It’s Israel. Signed in July 2026 under the Trump administration, the deal runs for 30 years and carries a price tag in the several-billion-dollar range. It opens the door for American nuclear technology to flow into Saudi Arabia, and it leaves open the possibility that Riyadh could enrich uranium domestically, pending the outcome of a joint US-Saudi economic study. What the deal actually says The uranium enrichment question is where things get complicated. Enrichment is the process that sits at the fork in the road between civilian power generation and weapons capability. The same technology that keeps the lights on can, with further refinement, produce material for a bomb. Saudi Arabia has long stated its ambitions plainly. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in 2018 that if Iran develops a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would follow. That statement has never been walked back. The agreement does include American safeguards and the prospect of on-site inspections, which the US is expected to enforce. Congress also retains oversight...