President Donald Trump has approved a 30-year civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia that could permit the kingdom to enrich uranium on its own soil, according to US officials cited by multiple news organisations. The pact, expected to be signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Wednesday, is structured to give American firms a dominant role in building Saudi nuclear infrastructure while largely excluding foreign competitors. It will be submitted to Congress for review, though legislative approval is not required for it to take effect; lawmakers would need a veto-proof two-thirds majority in both chambers to block it.

Viewed from Washington, the Trump administration frames the deal as a commercial and strategic win that will channel billions of dollars into the US nuclear industry and secure American oversight of Riyadh’s programme. Administration officials argue that US involvement will prevent the diversion of enriched uranium to military purposes and block the reprocessing of spent fuel for weapons. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Manila, declined to confirm the agreement but stated that “the US is not going to reach any agreement with any country in the world that leads to the risk of proliferation.” Saudi officials have long insisted their nuclear ambitions are peaceful, aimed at reducing domestic oil consumption and freeing crude for export under Vision 2030. Yet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has repeatedly warned that the kingdom would seek its own nuclear weapon if Iran were to acquire one.

In European and Israeli diplomatic circles, the absence of two key safeguards has drawn sharp criticism. The agreement does not include the so-called “gold standard” that would bar Saudi Arabia from enriching uranium or reprocessing spent fuel—both potential pathways to fissile material for warheads. It also omits the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol, which grants inspectors broader access to verify that civilian programmes are not diverted to weapons development. By contrast, the 2009 US nuclear pact with the United Arab Emirates explicitly prohibits enrichment and reprocessing, a model non-proliferation experts have held up as the benchmark. Analysts in London and Vienna note that while enrichment alone does not yield a bomb, it removes a critical technological barrier, and the Saudi case is further complicated by a recent mutual defence pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan, whose defence minister said Islamabad’s nuclear programme “will be made available” to Riyadh if needed.

The announcement arrives amid active US-Israeli military operations against Iran, launched in part to eliminate Tehran’s nuclear capabilities. Iranian state-aligned media portray the deal as a double standard, accusing Washington of fuelling a regional arms race while demanding that Iran curtail its own enrichment. The agreement also decouples nuclear cooperation from Saudi-Israeli normalisation, a linkage the Biden administration had pursued but which Riyadh has conditioned on progress toward Palestinian statehood. The pact now moves to Capitol Hill, where bipartisan opposition is expected, though the high threshold for a congressional veto makes its derailment unlikely. A formal signing ceremony is anticipated later on Wednesday, after which the 90-day legislative review period will begin.