US greenlights Saudi nuclear enrichment without safeguards: Report Submitted by MEE staff on Mon, 07/20/2026 - 17:36 Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman previously said he would acquire a bomb if Iran did Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US President Donald Trump prepare to depart the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on 19 November 2025 (Brendan Smialowski/AFP) Off The Trump administration has greenlit Saudi Arabia's nuclear enrichment project, but with no safeguards in place to prevent the development of a bomb, CNN reported on Friday. The draft deal, viewed by the news outlet, showed Washington's support for Riyadh’s civilian nuclear programme is still awaiting President Donald Trump’s signature, despite US-Saudi negotiations concluding in October. Unnamed officials cited in the story indicated that the documents, which include the mandatory "123 agreement" and safeguards protocols, have not yet been sent to Congress, potentially for fear of bipartisan pushback.
It is unclear how long the president will wait, given Congress is likely to switch hands to a Democratic majority after the November elections, stymying his policy agenda. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his advisors have long pushed for a deal that would allow them to enrich uranium, which they say the kingdom holds vast reserves of. “We will enrich it and we will sell it and we will do a ‘yellowcake'," Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said last year, referring to a step in the process that comes after mining but before enrichment.
Nuclear umbrella The Saudi push to be included under the US’s nuclear umbrella was a key issue during the Saudi crown prince's visit to the White House in November last year. Days after Israel attacked Hamas negotiators in Qatar earlier in the year, Saudi Arabia signed a defence pact with Pakistan, the only nuclear-armed state in the Muslim world. Pakistan is estimated to possess around 170 nuclear warheads.
Saudi and Pakistani descriptions of the deal said it encompassed all military options. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The Americans’ nuclear talks with Saudi Arabia have been kept under tight wraps, but one former US intelligence official previously told Middle East Eye that the idea of extending protec…
Summary from source