How Trump upended the Saudi nuclear deal less than 24 hours after its signing

On Wednesday afternoon, officials gathered at the downtown Washington headquarters of the Energy Department for an event more than two decades in the making: the signing of a civilian nuclear agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia. After months of delay, the arrangement was finally signed. The Saudis had won much of their wish list for the deal. The new condition, which the White House insisted was long a goal of Trump's and shouldn't have shocked anyone, surprised the administration's own nuclear negotiators, for whom the Abraham Accords condition was unexpected, two sources briefed on the matter told CNN. Trump's Truth Social post Thursday morning also blindsided the Saudis, for whom the nuclear deal — which did not include the normalization requirement — had been a major triumph. Leavitt said later that morning that Trump had not spoken to the powerful crown prince — the kingdom's de facto leader — in the hours before or after his abrupt announcement of new conditions on the deal.