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The Israelis had their jaws dropping and dragging on the grounds. The Saudis were cock-a-hoop. The Trump administration remains, as it always does, streaky and fickle. The agreement between the US and Saudi Arabia for the creation of a civilian nuclear program was originally contingent on one vital fact: that Israel and the Kingdom normalise their relations through the Abraham Accords. But President Donald Trump is the enemy of contingency and conditions, indifferent, even hostile to stability. He is the relativising distillate, the corrosive acid that does away with fetters and understanding. Trust him, and any sense of constancy, at your peril.
On July 22, the US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed what was described by the US Department of Energy as “a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement” (also known as a 123 agreement pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act), alongside a bilateral safeguards agreement. The 123 agreement is intended to provide US companies access to the Kingdom’s nuclear energy program, supposedly “benefiting American industry, workers, and supply chains while helping to meet Saudi energy needs.” Vacuous and inconsistent words followed: the claim that these agreements uphold “high standards of nuclear safety, security and nonproliferation” and that the US “competitive edge in civil nuclear technology” is being strengthened.
