US President Donald Trump has said Saudi Arabia should move toward formal ties with Israel, and he is again making that step a condition for any civil nuclear agreement with the kingdom. His comments place Saudi-Israel normalization at the center of a wider US policy discussion on regional diplomacy and nuclear cooperation.
Trump's position is that Washington will not proceed with a civilian nuclear deal for Riyadh unless Saudi leaders agree to join the Abraham Accords and recognize Israel. By linking the two issues, he is signaling that diplomatic recognition is not separate from the nuclear talks but a key requirement.
The remarks reinforce a broader strategy of using major bilateral agreements to push for political change in the Middle East. A potential Saudi nuclear deal has been seen as a significant policy matter, but Trump's latest statement suggests there will be no progress without movement on normalization.
Saudi Arabia has not established formal relations with Israel, so the issue remains highly sensitive and closely watched across the region. For now, Trump's message is clear: any US-backed civil nuclear pact with Riyadh would depend on Saudi Arabia taking the step of normalizing ties with Israel.
