Trump signs civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, ties it to Israel relations

The United States and Saudi Arabia have signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement that comes with a very large string attached: Riyadh must normalize relations with Israel, or the whole thing falls apart. What the deal actually includes The agreement, formally known as a “123 agreement” (named after Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act), was signed on July 22, 2026, by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. It permits American companies to supply civilian nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia over the next 30 years. At the center of the commercial opportunity are AP1000 reactors, an advanced pressurized water reactor design. Westinghouse, the company behind the AP1000, stands to gain tens of billions of dollars from construction contracts if the deal proceeds. The agreement also opens the door to uranium enrichment on Saudi soil, though that element would be subject to a joint study rather than an immediate green light. Trump himself seemed to draw a line on that front, posting that “there will be no enrichment of material” for non-military uses. On August 25, 2026, the administration formally transmitted the agreement to Congress, s...