US President Donald Trump will approve a civil nuclear energy agreement with Saudi Arabia only if Riyadh joins the Abraham Accords and normalises diplomatic relations with Israel, the White House confirmed on Thursday, 23 July. The condition places a significant new political hurdle on an energy pact that had been announced just a day earlier by Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

The Core Condition

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump had made the Abraham Accords membership an explicit prerequisite for the deal's approval. Reading from a social media post by Trump, Leavitt stated: 'The civil nuclear deal, there will be no enrichment of material, an important point being made between the Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia, which pertains only to non-military use, will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.'

Trump also posted: 'The United States is not opposed to civil nuclear facilities,' according to Leavitt. She added that the president had raised this condition on multiple prior occasions, describing him as 'the final dealmaker.'

What the Agreement Covers

The proposed civil nuclear arrangement would bar Saudi Arabia from enriching nuclear material and would be restricted to non-military applications. Leavitt confirmed that negotiations remain ongoing and declined to specify whether Saudi nuclear facilities would be subject to international inspections, citing the deal's unfinished status.

She did, however, confirm that the agreement would grant US companies priority access to Saudi Arabia's nuclear energy programme. 'The deal that has been discussed thus far and will continue to be discussed absolutely puts America first,' Leavitt said.

Saudi Arabia's Long-Standing Position

Riyadh has historically conditioned any normalisation with Israel on meaningful progress toward the establishment of a Palestinian state — a position that has not publicly shifted. When asked why the administration believed Saudi Arabia might alter its stance, Leavitt declined to discuss the specifics of Trump's diplomatic exchanges with Saudi leadership.

The White House gave no indication that Saudi Arabia had accepted the new condition. Leavitt noted that Trump had discussed the matter with Saudi leaders in previous conversations, but said she did not believe he had spoken directly with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman following Thursday's statement.

Abraham Accords: The Broader Push

The Abraham Accords, brokered during Trump's first term, normalised relations between Israel and several Arab states including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. Saudi Arabia — the Arab world's most influential power — has remained outside the framework.

Leavitt said Trump wants more Gulf and Arab nations to join the accords as part of a wider regional diplomacy effort. 'This is a condition that the president has spoken about many times with our Gulf and Arab allies,' she said. 'He wants to see these countries sign the Abraham Accord.'

Netanyahu's Role and What Comes Next

Leavitt clarified that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not requested that Abraham Accords membership be made a condition of the nuclear deal. 'Not to my knowledge, no,' she said, attributing the proposal entirely to Trump.

The administration said it would continue engaging in diplomatic conversations with Riyadh. With Saudi Arabia's position on Palestinian statehood unchanged and no public acceptance of the new condition, the path to finalising the agreement remains uncertain.