Saudi joining Abraham Accords would be "historic leap" for peace: Israel PM Netanyahu

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office, in a post on X, said that the joint US-Israeli military action against Iran's "terror axis" had created the possibility to expand the circle of peace.

The post said, "The joint American and Israeli military action against the genocidal regime in Tehran and Israel's crushing of Iran's terror axis have created the possibility to expand the circle of peace."

Referring to Trump's remarks, Netanyahu said, "As President DonaldTrump has said, Saudi Arabia's joining of the Abraham Accords would be an historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East."

The statement concluded with the phrase, "Peace through Strength."

Netanyahu's remarks came after Trump said that the civilian nuclear agreement his administration has already signed with Saudi Arabia is conditioned on the kingdom joining the Abraham Accords, the US-brokered normalisation framework under which Israel established diplomatic relations with several Arab countries.

In a social media post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump clarified that the proposed cooperation framework would be restricted strictly to non-military nuclear applications, explicitly ruling out domestic uranium enrichment under the arrangement.

"The Civil Nuclear Deal... will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords," Trump said.

"The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities," he added.

The President's intervention came twenty-four hours after American and Saudi officials announced the breakthrough energy agreement.

Signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the bilateral accord has been submitted for legislative review in the US Congress.

By linking the two issues, Trump has tied the civil energy partnership to a long-standing point of friction in Middle Eastern diplomacy.

Riyadh has repeatedly affirmed that formal diplomatic recognition of Israel remains contingent on a clear and credible roadmap towards an independent Palestinian state.

Despite persistent diplomatic pushes from Washington to expand the scope of the "Abraham Accords", Saudi officials have maintained an unaltered stance on Palestinian statehood.

Negotiations over a bilateral civil nuclear framework between Washington and Riyadh have spanned successive American administrations, though previous efforts hit impasses over non-proliferation stipulations.

Unlike earlier iterations evaluated under former US President Joe Biden, the current draft does not obligate Saudi Arabia to sign the International Atomic Energy Agency's Additional Protocol, which grants inspectors short-notice access to undeclared sites.

The White House maintains that the accord strictly adheres to the US Atomic Energy Act and incorporates robust non-proliferation controls.

Saudi authorities have similarly stated that the alliance will accelerate national energy diversification while upholding international safety standards.

The bilateral treaty, structured as a "123 Agreement", aims to enable the construction of AP1000 nuclear reactors utilising American technology across the kingdom.

The pact is now undergoing a 90-session-day review period in the US Congress and will automatically take effect unless blocked by legislative action.

However, the arrangement has drawn criticism from several Democratic lawmakers, who warn that granting advanced nuclear technology to Riyadh risks triggering broader regional proliferation and an arms race in West Asia.

The "Abraham Accords" are a series of US-brokered diplomatic pacts launched in 2020 that established formal political, economic, and security ties between Israel and several Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. (ANI)