|
US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) reiterated that Saudi Arabia must join the Abraham Accords as a firm condition for finalising a bilateral civil nuclear arrangement, declaring that Riyadh no longer faces the threat of a dominant regional power in Iran to justify holding back.
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. Speaking during an address on American nuclear innovation, Trump made his latest remarks the focal point of the proposed energy partnership, insisting that joining the regional normalisation agreement with Israel is "very important for the future of the Middle East". "In order to do it, they have to be a member of the Abraham Accords... it's time now that they do it," Trump said. "They, and others, didn't want to do it because of the problem that they had with Iran. You don't have that problem anymore. You don't have that problem anymore, you don't have a great power there anymore. They were the bully of the Middle East. They're really not going to be that much of a bully anymore." "At some point, they'll join," the President added. The remarks build on a statement Trump posted on Truth Social a day earlier, where he clarified that the energy framework would be restricted strictly to non-military nuclear applications while ruling out domestic uranium enrichment. "The Civil Nuclear Deal... will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords," Trump wrote on Thursday. "The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities". Trump's explicit condition comes following the signing of the breakthrough civil nuclear energy agreement by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, which 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. On the other hand, Riyadh has repeatedly affirmed that formal diplomatic recognition of Israel remains contingent on a clear and credible roadmap towards an independent Palestinian state. 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. (ANI)
|
