Trump submits Saudi nuclear deal to Congress and links pact to ties with Israel

In a recent development, US President Donald Trump has submitted a civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress, with the condition that the kingdom establish official ties with Israel. The agreement, reached in July 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords, was submitted to Congress by the Department of Energy under the 1954 Atomic Energy Act.

The pact would allow US companies to export civilian nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia and strengthen the US-Saudi partnership. President Trump stated that Saudi-Israeli normalization would be a prerequisite for the nuclear pact to take effect, marking a change in the administration's previous stance that the two deals could proceed independently.

The Abraham Accords also saw the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco sign agreements with Israel in 2020, while Sudan joined later. President Biden attempted to involve Saudi Arabia in the accords, but talks between Riyadh and Israel stalled following Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. Israel's government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, supports relations with Saudi Arabia but opposes Palestinian statehood.

Congress has 90 legislative days to review the nuclear agreement, and if they do not reject it within that timeframe, the pact will become effective. Should Congress reject the agreement, President Trump has the option to veto the resolution, although Congress could potentially override a veto with a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and Senate.