Report: Agreement signed — what was behind Trump's sudden condition?
The nuclear agreement signed between the US and Saudi Arabia was frozen following a post by President Donald Trump calling for Riyadh to join the Abraham Accords. White House Press Secretary: "Trump is the ultimate deal closer." Israeli sources told CNN that Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to pressure Trump to include normalization with Riyadh as part of the agreement.
A festive event at the Department of Energy headquarters in Washington, intended to mark the signing of a historic civil nuclear agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia after more than two decades of discussions, turned into a political and diplomatic storm in less than 24 hours.
The signing ceremony took place in the presence of US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart, who appeared via live broadcast from Riyadh. Under the agreement, the Saudis achieved a large part of their list of demands. However, on Thursday morning, President Donald Trump posted on social media, imposing a new condition for the deal: Saudi Arabia would be required to join the Abraham Accords and normalize its diplomatic relations with Israel. Furthermore, Donald Trump denied that the agreement would allow for uranium enrichment.
Anger in the White House at the Department of Energy
Sources familiar with the details told CNN overnight on Friday that President Donald Trump was angry from the start about the exposure of the agreement, after Secretary of Energy Chris Wright did not inform him of the intention to announce it.
The anger of the President and his senior staff grew following sharp criticism from experts and conservative media outlets. Among other things, skeptical coverage on "Fox News" and in the "Wall Street Journal" editorial page questioned why an agreement was signed without a condition for normalization — something both media outlets noted that former President Joe Biden had also tried to achieve.
Following the confusion that arose, officials in the White House pointed an accusing finger at the Department of Energy. One source noted that the White House had asked the Department of Energy not to launch the agreement on Wednesday, but Chris Wright proceeded anyway and even gave an interview on "Fox Business". The White House emphasized that the new condition set by Donald Trump was a long-term goal of his, but sources familiar with the details noted that this stipulation completely surprised the administration's nuclear negotiation team.
From the perspective of some of Donald Trump's aides, the deal was not final at all since the required letters to Congress had not yet been sent. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted in response to questions that Donald Trump is the "ultimate deal closer".
A blow to Riyadh and Israeli involvement
Donald Trump's post also completely surprised the Saudis, for whom the original agreement — which did not include a demand for normalization — was considered a significant achievement. The agreement reached would have allowed uranium enrichment on Saudi soil under certain conditions, while limiting the ability of the UN inspection organization to check suspicious nuclear sites.
The signing this week came after the two countries reached an agreement in principle last October. The US Department of Energy submitted a waiver report to Congress at the time, because the agreement did not require the Saudis to sign the standard "Additional Protocol" of the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, the agreement was delayed for months without Donald Trump's approval, due to concerns about the war with Iran and that Congress would initiate rejection procedures. Officials at the Department of Energy believed last weekend that they had received Donald Trump's blessing and launched the media campaign, but another source clarified that even if Donald Trump welcomed a "temporary" agreement, it was not a green light for closing or exposing it.
At the same time, two Israeli sources told CNN that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hoped to influence the deal, and one of the sources added that Benjamin Netanyahu intended to pressure Donald Trump to include normalization with Riyadh — or at least progress towards it — as part of the agreement.
However, the White House clarified that Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu did not discuss the matter. Karoline Leavitt noted to reporters that the two did not speak to her knowledge, and that Donald Trump simply reiterated his general position regarding the normalization of diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Jerusalem.
