UNITED STATES PERSPECTIVE

The United States government has signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, potentially paving the way for the kingdom to enrich uranium. The deal, signed by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on July 23, 2026, still needs to be submitted to Congress, which has 90 days to review it, according to the Department of Energy. The agreement is expected to last for several decades and will give American companies priority access to Saudi Arabia's nuclear program, as reported by the HuffPost, citing the AP.

A point of concern raised by several outlets is that the agreement does not include the so-called "gold standard" clauses, which would prevent Riyadh from enriching uranium and reprocessing fuel, nor does it require enhanced supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency through the Additional Protocol, according to NPR. However, Chris Wright assured that the agreement "meets the highest standards of nuclear safety and non-proliferation".

The lack of usual guarantees has raised concerns among some members of Congress. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut warned that "this deal will trigger a nuclear arms race in the region, further discouraging Iran from limiting its own program", as reported by CNBC. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on the other hand, assured that the United States would not conclude "any agreement that leads to a risk of proliferation".

The announcement comes as the United States and Israel continue their military campaign against Iran, in part to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, as noted by the HuffPost and the LA Times. For years, the United States had tried to dissuade Saudi Arabia from developing its own enrichment program, with normalization with Israel being a prior condition, according to NBC News, a condition that is now absent from the agreement.

From an industrial perspective, the agreement is seen as a major commercial opportunity. Westinghouse CEO Dan Sumner views it as a "historic step" for the export of American technology, in a contract worth billions of dollars. The Congressional vote is expected to be a political test, with a qualified majority needed to block the agreement.