Trump backtracks on Saudi nuclear deal, demands Israel normalization as condition

Donald Trump just added a new condition to the US-Saudi nuclear deal, and it’s a big one. The president declared on Truth Social that any civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Riyadh is “totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords,” effectively linking two of the Middle East’s most consequential diplomatic threads into a single package. What Trump actually said, and what it means The president’s Truth Social post was blunt by even his standards. He confirmed the proposed deal, often called a 123 Agreement, would cover only civilian nuclear use and explicitly prohibit uranium enrichment in Saudi Arabia. “The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!)… pertains only to non-military use such as the ones that Iran and UAE (and others) already have, will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.” This is a reversal. Earlier signals from the administration suggested the nuclear deal and normalization talks could move on separate tracks, giving each side room to negotiate without the other becoming a dealbreaker. That flexibility is now gone. The Abraham...