Trump sends Saudi nuclear deal to Congress

WASHINGTON

U.S. President Donald Trump has submitted to Congress for review an agreement with Saudi Arabia aimed at bolstering its civilian nuclear program, but continues to insist that it won’t move forward if the kingdom doesn’t normalize relations with Israel, according to a Trump administration official.

The classified document was submitted to Capitol Hill on Aug. 24 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.

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.