Saudi Arabia signed an agreement with the United States in July 2026 for the two countries to cooperate in building a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia using U.S. nuclear technology. The 30-year deal, whose text was not immediately made public, would diversify the energy sector in Saudi Arabia and boost oil exports. It would also grant the United States exclusive access to the development of Saudi nuclear infrastructure after bids in recent years from Chinese, French, Russian, and South Korean nuclear power companies. Critics warn that the deal, if it does not have proper safeguards, could lead to uranium enrichment by Saudi Arabia and ultimately to the pursuit of a nuclear weapon, with additional implications for the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. After the deal was signed, U.S. Pres. Donald Trump announced that he considered it contingent on Saudi normalization with Israel, the only country in the Middle East that is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons.
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