The Trump administration has greenlit a 30-year civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. The deal allows US companies to help the Kingdom develop its civilian nuclear program, including domestic uranium enrichment capabilities, without requiring the standard international non-proliferation safeguards that have been a cornerstone of American nuclear diplomacy for decades.
What the deal actually includes
The agreement, which was negotiated through October 2025 and is now awaiting final presidential signature and congressional review, would span three decades. It provides a framework for US nuclear technology companies to support Saudi Arabia’s civilian energy ambitions.
The most consequential element is what it leaves out. The deal does not include the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol, a verification mechanism that gives inspectors broader access to a country’s nuclear facilities and activities. The Additional Protocol has been the gold standard of non-proliferation oversight since the 1990s.
The agreement also permits Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium domestically following a joint study period. Enrichment capability is the technology that separates civilian nuclear ambitions from something more concerning. The same centrifuges that produce low-enriched uranium for power plants can, with further spinning, produce weapons-grade material.
