On Wednesday, July 22, 2026, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman put their names to two documents: a civil nuclear cooperation agreement and a separate bilateral safeguards pact. The Energy Department called them the legal foundation for a “decadeslong, multi-billion-dollar” partnership. Its own summary says the main agreement “provides great access for American companies” in the Saudi nuclear program.
The main agreement is what Washington calls a 123 agreement, named for the section of U.S. atomic law that governs this kind of deal. Think of it as the rulebook that has to exist before any American reactor designer can sell into the kingdom.
What is in it
Terms are thin so far. TIME reported that the deal is expected to run 30 years and would put U.S. companies front and center in building Saudi nuclear infrastructure. The Wall Street Journal, as cited by TIME, reported that an enrichment plant could follow if a two-year joint U.S.-Saudi study finds enrichment in the kingdom justified and commercially viable. If the U.S. then says no, Saudi Arabia would be barred from enriching on its own or with another foreign partner for 10 years.
DW described the agreement more broadly: it said the text would let Saudi Arabia build reactors with American technology and would also permit it to enrich uranium and reprocess nuclear waste.
No contracts have been awarded. TIME noted that reports in the Journal and the New York Times name Westinghouse, which designs reactors for export, as a likely big winner. At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Rep. Brad Sherman said Westinghouse “stands to make an awful lot of money on this deal.”
Why Riyadh wants it
Saudi Arabia is oil rich, yet it burns a lot of crude at home. Saudi officials have argued that nuclear power would free up more oil to sell abroad, and DW added that it would help cut emissions and power energy-hungry services such as desalination and air conditioning. Prince Abdulaziz said in 2019 that the country wanted “the full cycle, from producing uranium, to enriching uranium, using the uranium, even acquiring the technologies.”
The objections
Enrichment is the sticking point. The same technology that fuels a power reactor can, pushed further, make weapons material. Nonproliferation groups have warned about exactly that.
The United Arab Emirates signed its own 123 agreement in 2009 and gave up domestic enrichment and reprocessing, a pledge since called the “gold standard.” Saudi Arabia has rejected that standard. DW also reported that the new deal contains no Additional Protocol, the add-on that lets International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors make more intrusive, short-notice checks.
Wright answered the criticism in a statement. “Rest assured, these agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and nonproliferation,” he said. Democrats were not reassured. Sen. Edward Markey told Reuters, “This deal would make us all less safe,” and Sen. Chris Murphy warned on X of a nuclear race in the region. Rep. Gregory Meeks said he had “deep concerns” and wanted limits on enrichment and reprocessing.
Congress and the Abraham Accords
The agreement goes to Congress and takes effect unless lawmakers vote to block it within 90 legislative days. Overriding a presidential veto would take a two-thirds majority. On Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social that the deal “is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining” the Abraham Accords, the Israel normalization agreements Riyadh has so far declined to sign without Palestinian statehood first.
Sources
- U.S. Reaches Landmark Nuclear Deal With Saudi Arabia (TIME)
- US and Saudi Arabia reach historic nuclear energy deal (DW)
