U.S. Sends Saudi Arabia Nuclear Cooperation Agreement to Congress, Raising Proliferation Concerns

The prospect that the kingdom could enrich uranium has drawn opposition from Democrats and revived concerns about nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.

· The Trump administration has formally submitted a 30-year U.S.–Saudi nuclear cooperation agreement to Congress for review.

· The agreement could allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium for its civilian nuclear programme, raising concerns about the potential spread of nuclear weapons capabilities in the Middle East.

· The deal would give U.S. companies a central role in developing Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear infrastructure and largely limit foreign competitors.

· The agreement is being reviewed under Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act, making it a so-called “123 Agreement.”

· Congress has a 90-day review period involving the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee.

· The agreement can take effect without an affirmative congressional vote unless Congress passes a joint resolution rejecting it during the review period.

· Some Democratic lawmakers strongly oppose the possibility of Saudi uranium enrichment, arguing that Riyadh should renounce weapons-grade uranium production and accept the IAEA’s strongest inspection standards.

· Critics warn that allowing Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium could trigger a broader nuclear arms race in the Middle East, particularly given the region’s tensions with Iran.

· The agreement was signed by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman last month, alongside a separate bilateral nuclear safeguards agreement.

· Key implication: The deal could significantly deepen U.S.–Saudi strategic and energy cooperation, but its nuclear-enrichment provisions may create a difficult balance between civilian nuclear development, non-proliferation and regional security.

[ABS News Service/26.08.2026]

The Trump administration has submitted to Congress a nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia that could allow the kingdom to enrich its own fuel for nuclear reactors, according to two officials with firsthand knowledge of the transmission of the agreement.

The accord, announced by the White House last month, would deepen ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia at a moment when the war with Iran has strained the relationship between the two countries. The 30-year agreement would give U.S. companies a central role in developing Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear infrastructure while largely shutting out foreign competitors.

The submission formally begins a congressional review process required under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act, which gives such nuclear cooperation accords their shorthand name, “123 agreements.” Unlike treaties, they do not require approval by two-thirds of the Senate. Instead, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee review the agreement during a period totaling 90 days that Congress is in continuous session. Unless Congress passes a joint resolution rejecting the agreement during that period, the accord can take effect without an affirmative vote by either chamber.

The transmission of the agreement to Congress was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.

The prospect that Saudi Arabia could enrich uranium — the technology at the center of the conflict with Iran — has drawn sharp opposition from some Democratic lawmakers and revived longstanding concerns about nuclear proliferation in the region.

“This deal is the starting gun for a Middle East nuclear arms race,” Senators Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, along with Representatives John Garamendi of California and Donald S. Beyer Jr. of Virginia, wrote in an essay last month. The four Democrats contended that the agreement should require Saudi Arabia to forgo the production of weapons-grade uranium and accept the International Atomic Energy Agency’s most stringent inspection standards.

“Congress must reject it,” they wrote.

The lawmakers also said that President Trump’s launching a war with Iran over the country’s nuclear ambitions while negotiating a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia was a fundamental contradiction to U.S. nuclear policy in the region. “That contradiction doesn’t make America stronger,” they wrote. “It makes American policy impossible to take seriously.”

Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the Saudi energy minister, signed the agreement last month as part of a broader package of cooperation on civilian nuclear power. The two officials also signed what the administration described as a bilateral agreement on nuclear safeguards.