Col (r) Ikram Ullah Khan
A historic civil nuclear energy deal was inked between the US and Saudi Arabia on 22 July 2026 despite intense resistance coming from not only Zionist lobby in Washington but also from the Democrats as well as a few Republicans from Trump’s own party.
Israeli PM Netanyahu has also expressed his serious reservations over the deal fearing that it could ultimately enable Saudi Arabia to develop nuclear weapons at the end of the day which according to him, could disturb the balance of power in the Middle East and pose a serious existential threat to Israel.
Soon after the deal was signed, quite expectedly, President Trump threw a spanner in the works by making the deal contingent on Saudi Arabia’s joining the much-controversial Abraham Accord and also recognition of Israel. It appears that the Zionist lobby has prevailed upon Trump to make it conditional to accepting Israel and joining the Abraham Accord by Saudi Arabia. With a huge somersault taken by President Trump as is usual with him, the future of the deal seems to be hanging in the balance.
According to security analysts, Saudi Arabia won’t accept the strings attached to the deal which didn’t form part of the initial deal but appended to it by Trump unilaterally. However, no reaction on the part of Saudi Arabia is currently reported in this regard. Security analysts are of the view that if Trump persist with the conditions, Saudi Arabia may consider exiting from the deal and instead, look towards China or Russia for a similar deal without strings attached.
China and Russia are eagerly waiting for this to happen and grab the opportunity to sign an agreement with Saudi Arabia. If this happens, it will enable China/ Russia to make inroads into the Middle East in a big way, thus neutralising the growing US influence in the region.
According to defence analysts, President Trump opted for the deal primarily because of two reasons. Firstly, Trump had a fear that if a civil nuclear deal was not struck with Saudi Arabia, the latter might do the same either with China or Russia, thereby opening the door for both of them to enter the Middle East with full force which could further enfeeble the already dwindling influence of the US as the world’s sole superpower. Secondly, Trump sees huge financial benefits for the US economy running into billions of dollars with American nuclear companies operating their business in Saudi Arabia.
As for the details of the agreement, these are not yet known. However, it’s speculated that all necessary safeguard measures for non-proliferation of nuclear arms may have been included in the deal. In this context, it’s worth mentioning here that Saudi Arabia refused to accept the conditions that formed part of a civil nuclear energy deal struck between the US and the United Arab Emirates in 2009 that made it legally binding on the latter to eschew uranium enrichment and reprocessing, and instead, rely on the international market for nuclear fuel services.
This refusal on the part of Saudi Arabia was the fundamental reason for delay of concluding a deal between the two countries. Saudi Arabia’s insistence on having the option to pursue enrichment which can be used to produce both civilian fuel and nuclear weapons materials so that it could develop nuclear weapons if Iran were to develop nuclear weapons, has raised concerns about the potential for a covert nuclear weapons program.
Reportedly, the agreement doesn’t bind Saudi Arabia to accept the additional protocol that allows the IAEA to review, and if needed, inspect nuclear facilities/locations. These issues raise concerns that the agreement’s conditions may not be sufficient to prevent Saudi Arabia from developing nuclear weapons, thus giving credence to Zionist lobby’s fears as already mentioned.
The deal if implemented in letter and spirit, will have far-reaching security and economic implications not only for Saudi Arabia but for the entire Middle East, the United States, Israel and above all, a possible global nuclear proliferation. It has the potential to alter the geostrategic and geopolitical landscape of the region.