The Trump administration officially submitted a classified civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia to Congress on Monday, initiating a statutory 90-day review period mandated by the Atomic Energy Act. The agreement was signed last month by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart, but Trump announced the following day that he would require Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords as a condition for the deal to advance.
Under existing law, Congress has 90 days to review the agreement while in session. Unless lawmakers pass a joint resolution rejecting the pact during this period, the agreement can proceed without a vote from either chamber. The full classification of the agreement’s contents is noteworthy, as previous civilian nuclear agreements with other nations, known as 123 agreements, have typically been made public, though some included classified annexes withheld from disclosure.
Trump’s linkage of the nuclear deal to Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy has created complications for the agreement’s path to approval. Saudi officials were reportedly surprised by the condition and have indicated that normalizing relations with Israel would first require establishing a viable pathway to Palestinian statehood. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Palestinian statehood presents security challenges that are incompatible with Israel’s interests.
The proposed agreement is expected to span 30 years and would involve American firms in developing Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear program, following a joint U.S.-Saudi study. Some lawmakers have raised concerns that the deal could facilitate Saudi uranium enrichment, potentially accelerating nuclear proliferation and regional competition. The Saudi embassy in Washington declined to comment on the submission.
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