Trump has submitted civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia to
Congress for review, AP sources say
[August 26, 2026]
By MATTHEW LEE, SEUNG MIN KIM and AAMER MADHANI
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has submitted to Congress for
review an agreement with Saudi Arabia aimed at bolstering the kingdom's
civilian nuclear program, but continues to insist that it won't move
forward if Saudi Arabia doesn't normalize relations with Israel,
according to a Trump administration official.
The classified document was submitted to Capitol Hill on Monday as
required by the Atomic Energy Act, according to the administration
official, a congressional aide, and two others familiar with the matter.
All four spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to comment publicly on the classified matter.
The agreement was signedlast month in Washington by U.S. Energy
Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart. But the next day,
Trump announced he was requiring the Saudis to normalize relations with
Israel through the Abraham Accords as part of the pact — raising doubts
that the agreement would come to fruition.
Neither the administration official nor the others familiar with the
matter would comment on whether Trump's call for the Saudis to join the
accords is detailed in the classified document submitted for the
congressional review.
Under law, Congress has 90 days while in session to review the
agreement. Unless Congress passes a joint resolution rejecting the
agreement during the review period, the agreement can take effect
without a vote by either chamber.
It is unusual for the entire contents of such agreements to be
classified at such a high level. Previous civil nuclear pacts with other
countries — known as 123 agreements — have been made public, although
some of them have contained classified annexes that were not released.
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The Saudi embassy in Washington did not have any immediate comment
on the matter.
But Trump's continued insistence on the Saudis joining the accords
could complicate the path to final approval. The accords approved in
2020 expanded the number of Arab and Muslim-majority nations with
diplomatic ties with Israel.
The Saudis were taken by surprise by Trump’s announcement that the
completion of the civil nuclear deal would hinge on Riyadh’s
agreement to join the accords.
Trump faced fierce criticism from some lawmakers, including some who
are concerned it could potentially help the Saudis fulfill their
long-standing desire to enrich their own uranium and, in the
process, spur new rounds of nuclear proliferation and competition.
The Saudis, meanwhile, have made clear that normalizing relations
with Israel would first require the establishment of a clear path
for Palestinian statehood. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has rejected the idea of Palestinian statehood as being
untenable for his country’s security.
The deal, if approved, is expected to last 30 years and is also
expected to involve U.S. firms in developing the program following a
joint U.S.-Saudi study.
The formal submission of the agreement to Congress for review was
reported earlier Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal.
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