The Administration of Donald Trump is set to announce a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that will allow the kingdom to develop a uranium enrichment program aimed, according to Washington, at energy production for exclusively civilian purposes.
The pact, already authorized by the U.S. president, represents one of the most relevant geopolitical moves in recent years in the Middle East and comes at a particularly delicate moment, marked by the war between the United States and Iran and by tensions surrounding Tehran's nuclear program.
Although the White House insists that the agreement does not pursue military objectives, the decision has raised concerns among experts and part of the U.S. opposition, who fear that the ability to enrich uranium could facilitate the future development of nuclear weapons by Riyadh.
A turn in the midst of war with Iran
The authorization of the agreement comes as the Trump Administration maintains that one of the main objectives of the military offensive against Iran is to prevent the regime of the ayatollahs from obtaining the atomic bomb.
Precisely for this reason, the decision to allow another key actor in the region to enrich uranium has opened an intense political debate in Washington.
The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, defended that the United States "would never adopt a policy that favors nuclear proliferation" and assured that the Saudi program will be aimed exclusively at energy generation.
However, the technical details of the agreement have not yet been made public.
A 30-year agreement
According to U.S. media, the pact will last for 30 years and includes the participation of the American nuclear industry in the construction of energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
Among the main beneficiaries is Westinghouse, one of the largest American companies specialized in the design and construction of nuclear reactors, which could take on a large part of the contracts derived from the agreement.
The Trump Administration claims that the operation will generate billions of dollars for the U.S. industry and strengthen strategic cooperation with one of its main allies in the Middle East.
Congress will have the final word
Although the president has already authorized the pact, its entry into force must overcome the procedure established in the U.S. Congress.
The agreement may move forward unless a qualified majority in the Senate votes against it, a scenario that, for the moment, seems unlikely due to the support of a good part of the Republican legislators.
Various analysts believe that Israel will be one of the main opponents of the initiative, understanding that any uranium enrichment capability in the region could alter the strategic balance in the Middle East.
A negotiation initiated with Biden
The possibility of a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia did not arise during Donald Trump's second term.
The Joe Biden Administration had already explored this option within a broader diplomatic package that sought to advance towards the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel as a continuation of the Abraham Accords, promoted by Trump during his first term.
However, that project was stalled after the Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Now, the White House has decided to unlink the nuclear agreement from any demands related to the diplomatic normalization between Riyadh and Israel, thus facilitating its closure.