The President of the United States (US) Donald Trump has stated that Saudi Arabia understood it must join the Abraham Accords before his administration advances a civilian nuclear energy agreement with the kingdom.
Speaking at an Oval Office event, Trump dismissed suggestions that Energy Secretary Chris Wright acted prematurely by signing the pact with Saudi officials. He maintained that normalizing relations with Israel was an established expectation throughout bilateral talks, asserting that Riyadh was fully aware of the requirement.
“Well. We didn’t talk about it, but it was always understood. And Chris knew and Saudi Arabia knew that if they joined the Abraham Accords, the deal is not, I’m not going to do the deal,” Trump said.
Asked why Wright signed the document despite that requirement, Trump noted that all involved parties recognized the framework remained subject to review by Congress and conditional on diplomatic steps.
“Because they understood that, subject to Congress and everything else, in order for that deal to go through, they had to sign into the Abraham Accords,” Trump stated.
“We think the Abraham Accords will bring peace in the Middle East.”
The president pointed out that regional conditions changed following reductions in Iran’s military capabilities.
“There’s no longer an Iran factor. There’s no longer Iran to worry about because they’ve been reduced in terms of their capability and power by many fold,” Trump opined.
He added that the arrangement remains strictly focused on non-military technology.
“They’ll join and they’ll do their civil. It’s really, it’s civil nuclear. But that’s what it is. No enrichment. It’s civil nuclear,” Trump observed.
