U.S. president Donald Trump has claimed he will not move ahead with a civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia unless Riyadh agrees to normalise relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords.
The White House had already seen a Saudi nuclear cooperation deal signed by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, but Trump added a new condition to the deal.
The Saudi deal had been expected to go to Congress for review, and Trump said on Friday, July 24th that the Accords requirement had always been understood. Saudi Arabia has long resisted joining the agreement without an irreversible path to Palestinian statehood.
At the same time, the Trump administration is trying to keep diplomatic options open with Iran. U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Trump wants to give talks with Tehran “some space” as he weighs whether to escalate further after nearly two weeks of American strikes.
Waltz said the president is keeping “all options on the table” and warned that Iran should take him seriously. The conflict has widened across the region, with Houthi attacks in Yemen and further disruption to shipping and oil markets adding to the pressure.
