Trump Administration Reaches Broad Nuclear Deal With Saudi Arabia, Drawing Bipartisan and Israeli Concern

Lawmakers from both parties and Israeli officials worry the kingdom could parlay a civilian program into weapons capability

The Trump administration has reached a broad nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, according to the New York Times, a deal that has already drawn opposition from lawmakers in both parties and from Israeli officials.

The agreement matters because it would extend American nuclear assistance to a kingdom that has never ruled out someday pursuing weapons capability, raising the stakes for proliferation policy in one of the world's most volatile regions.

Critics cited by the Times fear Saudi Arabia could eventually use a civilian nuclear energy program as a stepping stone toward developing nuclear weapons, a concern that has surfaced repeatedly as the kingdom has expanded its regional ambitions. Israeli officials have voiced similar unease, wary of any development that could alter the strategic balance in the Middle East.

The broad contours of the deal were reported as opposition was forming on Capitol Hill, though the Times reporting did not detail final terms or a timeline for completion. The agreement would mark a significant expansion of U.S.-Saudi cooperation on nuclear technology, an area that has been the subject of on-and-off negotiations between Washington and Riyadh for years.

The development adds another layer to a region already absorbed by the ongoing U.S. military confrontation with Iran and the war in Gaza, with any expansion of nuclear technology in the Gulf likely to draw close scrutiny from Congress and from Israel in the weeks ahead.

— Compiled from reporting by The New York Times.