Trump’s Saudi nuclear deal risks destabilizing the Middle East– www.washingtonexaminer.com
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EXCERPT:
The United States has reached a historic agreement that will support Saudi Arabia’s ability to enrich uranium on its own soil without the stringent safeguards traditionally required under U.S. nuclear cooperation agreements. The deal was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Under the terms of the agreement, Washington will seek to ensure the program remains focused on civilian purposes by retaining influence over key aspects of Riyadh’s nuclear infrastructure.
What makes the deal truly significant is Trump’s decision to decouple it from Saudi-Israeli normalization efforts. The Biden administration had tied any prospective nuclear agreement to Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords, before Oct. 7, 2023, derailed those efforts. Today, however, the regional security environment has fundamentally changed. The war between the United States and Iran has demonstrated that Gulf states are no longer bystanders but potential targets of Iranian retaliation. But this comes with added risk of regional escalation.
Should Riyadh eventually pursue a military nuclear capability, for example, Israel’s strategic position in the region would be significantly weakened. As the Middle East’s only nuclear power, Israel enjoys a unique deterrent advantage, providing it with considerable leverage over regional adversaries. Preserving that advantage was one of the principal reasons previous U.S. administrations linked Saudi nuclear cooperation to normalization with Israel.