President Donald Trump has approved a 30-year civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia that could eventually permit the kingdom to enrich uranium on its own soil, according to US officials cited by multiple news agencies. The deal, estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars, is structured to give American companies a dominant role in developing Saudi nuclear infrastructure while largely excluding foreign competitors. A central provision allows for the construction of a uranium enrichment facility by US firms if a joint Washington-Riyadh study concludes such a step is commercially and technically justified. The agreement is expected to be formally signed on Wednesday by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, and will then be submitted to Congress for review.

According to Trump administration officials, the arrangement provides the United States with significant oversight of the Saudi programme, ensuring that enriched uranium is not diverted to military purposes and that spent fuel cannot be reprocessed for weapons. The White House argues that American involvement, including a so-called “black box” mechanism to prevent the transfer of sensitive enrichment technology, will keep the programme peaceful. Saudi officials have long maintained that their nuclear ambitions are strictly civilian, aimed at meeting domestic energy demand and freeing more oil for export. However, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has repeatedly stated that the kingdom would seek its own nuclear weapon if Iran were to acquire one, a position that has drawn scrutiny from non-proliferation experts and lawmakers in Washington.

The agreement does not include the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol, which would grant inspectors broader access to verify nuclear activities, nor does it adopt the “gold standard” of forgoing enrichment and reprocessing that the United Arab Emirates accepted in its own 123 Agreement with the US. Viewed from European and non-proliferation circles, this omission lowers the technical barrier to a future weapons programme, even though enrichment alone is not sufficient to build a bomb. Congressional opposition is expected from both Republican and Democratic members who fear the deal could trigger a regional nuclear arms race, particularly as the US and Israel are currently conducting military operations against Iran, partly aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear programme. Israeli officials have also expressed unease, with some viewing the transfer of sensitive technology to Riyadh as a potential threat to Israel’s undeclared nuclear monopoly in the region.

The announcement comes amid heightened regional tensions: Yemen’s Houthi rebels have threatened to blockade Saudi ports, and Saudi Arabia recently signed a mutual defence pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan, whose defence minister said his country’s nuclear programme “will be made available” to the kingdom if needed. The Trump administration has delinked the nuclear deal from any requirement for Saudi Arabia to normalise relations with Israel, a condition the previous Biden administration had pursued. While the agreement will be sent to Congress, blocking it would require a joint resolution and a two-thirds majority to override a potential presidential veto, a threshold that analysts in Washington consider difficult to reach. The dossier now moves to the legislative branch, where hearings and debate are expected in the coming weeks.