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\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\tAdministration says deal is nice for U.S. firms\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Thursday in Manila that the agreement would make sure that Saudi Arabia works with American corporations as an alternative of \u201ccompetitors\u201d to construct its civil nuclear program. China, South Korea, France and Russia are amongst alternative partners that Riyadh could look to.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re not the one show on the town, but we\u2019re one of the best show on the town,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cWe wish to make certain that it\u2019s our corporations they\u2019re picking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump has talked up his push to increase the Abraham Accords \u2014 which also formalized industrial ties between Israel and a few Arab and Muslim-majority nations \u2014 as key to his plan for bringing long-term stability to the Middle East. However the aftermath of Israel\u2019s war in Gaza and the nearly 5-month-old U.S. and Israel war against Iran have complicated Trump\u2019s push to expand the accords.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\tMore on World<\/button>More videos<\/button>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nThe agreements have proven unpopular amongst the general public in certain signatory countries comparable to Morocco and Bahrain, sparking widespread protests.<\/p>\n
Still, the Trump administration stays optimistic that an agreement with Saudi Arabia on joining the accords might be sealed by the top of Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\tDeal faces early scrutiny from Congress, Israel and nuclear experts\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The White House and Saudi Arabia haven’t made public the text of the nuclear cooperation agreement, generally known as a \u201c123 agreement,\u201d alongside what the Trump administration described as a \u201cbilateral safeguards agreement\u201d that was signed Wednesday by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman.<\/p>\n
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But it surely already faces scrutiny from Congress, some Israeli officials and nuclear experts.<\/p>\n
As details of the deal emerged Wednesday, opposition on Capitol Hill and elsewhere began to snowball, with Republicans and Democrats each questioning the wisdom of the agreement. As well as, conservative commentators who’ve generally supported Trump\u2019s polices asked why the president would give Saudi Arabia such a deal without getting anything in return.<\/p>\n
Then on Thursday, Trump abruptly announced that the deal is entirely contingent on the Saudis joining the accords.<\/p>\n
The United Arab Emirates, a neighbor to Saudi Arabia, signed a 123 agreement with the U.S. to construct its Barakah nuclear power plant with South Korean assistance. However the UAE did so without looking for enrichment, something nonproliferation experts have held up because the \u201cgold standard\u201d for nations wanting atomic power.<\/p>\n
Rubio, as a Republican senator representing Florida, backed a bipartisan 2018 proposal that called for requiring Congress to approve any 123 agreement with Saudi Arabia. The bill was reintroduced by a bunch of Democratic lawmakers in March but has not passed into law.<\/p>\n
Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, cosponsored with Rubio the 2018 bill that may have required approval from Congress for a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia. He said he \u201cmisses Sen. Rubio,\u201d arguing that Secretary Rubio appears to take a special position.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that Sen. Rubio will return to us and demand that Congress approve any agreement,\u201d Sherman said Wednesday at a gathering of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n
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Price reported from Manila, Philippines. Associated Press writers Sam Metz in Jerusalem and Matthew Daly and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
\n\t\t© 2026 The Canadian Press\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that a brand new agreement reached with Saudi Arabia for a civilian nuclear program would require the dominion to normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords. In a post on social media, the Republican president said the deal doesn’t allow for enrichment of uranium. Nonproliferation experts have raised […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":371011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20691],"tags":[12338,985,11420,1903,21124,5897,7926,19615,14159,1313],"class_list":["post-371010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-arabia","tag-deal","tag-israel","tag-national","tag-normalizing","tag-nuclear","tag-saudi","tag-subject","tag-ties","tag-trump"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t
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