The US and Saudi Arabia have signed a landmark nuclear agreement that could pave the way for a uranium enrichment facility in the Gulf kingdom — a prospect that has triggered alarm across the Middle East and raised fears of a new regional arms race.
Under the 30-year deal, American companies will help build Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear programme, meeting what US energy secretary Chris Wright described as the country’s “energy needs”. The arrangement is designed to free up more Saudi oil for export, boosting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic plan, while keeping rivals such as China and Russia out of the lucrative infrastructure market.
“US-Saudi nuclear deal allows potential uranium enrichment in Saudi Arabia, sparking proliferation fears across the Middle East.”
The deal, thought to be worth tens of billions of dollars, was first conceived during the Biden administration, when it was tied to Saudi normalisation with Israel. That prospect collapsed after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack and the ensuing Gaza war. The Trump administration has pushed the pact through without linking it to Israel.
At the heart of the controversy is a provision that could eventually allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium on its own soil. A joint US-Saudi study will run for two years to determine whether such a facility is needed. If the answer is yes, the final decision will fall to Donald Trump’s successor in the White House.
Many countries with nuclear energy rely on imported fuel rather than domestic enrichment, because the process can theoretically produce material for a nuclear weapon. Critics argue that allowing Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium could set off a proliferation race in an already volatile region. The full details of the deal remain unclear, but the absence of explicit safeguards against weapons-grade enrichment has deepened anxieties in Washington and among Gulf neighbours.