US says Saudi nuclear deal off without Israel recognition

U.S. President Donald Trump conditioned a civilian nuclear cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia on Thursday on Riyadh normalizing relations with Israel, an action the kingdom has so far refused to take. Trump said the deal would take effect only if Saudi Arabia joined the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords under which several Arab states established ties with Israel. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Trump had spoken with Gulf and Arab allies many times about pegging the deal to the Abraham Accords and that if the kingdom does not join them "the deal is off." The U.S. and Saudi Arabia announced the agreement on Wednesday allowing Riyadh to enrich uranium and build nuclear reactors using U.S. technology without the snap U.N. inspections Washington has demanded of Iran. In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump wrote: "The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!)... pertains only to non-military use such as the ones that Iran and UAE (and others) already have, will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords." "The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities," Trump said. The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment on Trump's post. Leavitt said she did not believe Trump had spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since his post, but it was something he had raised in previous conversations. Leavitt said she did not know if Netanyahu had requested that the deal be contingent on the wider accords. "Not to my knowledge, no," she told reporters. The deal would let Saudi Arabia enrich uranium and reprocess nuclear waste, both of which are potential pathways to a nuclear weapon. It was unclear what Trump meant in his social media post when he said there would be no nuclear enrichment under the agreement.