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TURKEY PERSPECTIVE
TRUMP MAKES SAUDI NUCLEAR DEAL CONDITIONAL ON RECOGNIZING ISRAEL
DOMINANT ANGLE
Ankara views the conditionality posed by Donald Trump as a risky gamble, likely to antagonize Riyadh rather than advance normalization with Israel.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
ANALYSIS
Ankara, July 24, 2026. Turkey is cautiously watching the announcement by Donald Trump linking the US-Saudi civil nuclear deal to Riyadh's accession to the Abraham Accords. The Turkish press reports that the US President stated the deal, announced on Wednesday, "will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia's accession" to the Abraham Accords, excluding any uranium enrichment in the civil sphere. For Benjamin Netanyahu, cited by the press, Saudi recognition would constitute a "historic leap" towards regional peace.
However, Riyadh has always conditioned any normalization with Israel on a clear prospect of a Palestinian state, Turkish media recalls, citing analyst H.A. Hellyer from the Royal United Services Institute: if the US "tries to force normalization on Riyadh, it may not go very well." This warning resonates in Ankara, where the tension between the Gulf's economic pragmatism and the proclaimed attachment to the Palestinian cause has long been observed.
The Turkish press details the technical terms of the "123 agreement" signed by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman: civil nuclear cooperation without material enrichment, based on the model of the United Arab Emirates. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on the sidelines of an ASEAN meeting in Manila, assured that any US nuclear deal would include guarantees preventing its conversion into a weapons program.
Turkish media notes a persistent ambiguity regarding possible future enrichment and cites Allison Minor from the Atlantic Council, who says the deal "sends a strong message to Tehran" by leaving the door open to Saudi enrichment while negotiations with Iran remain blocked.
For Ankara, a regional rival of Riyadh in the competition for leadership in the Sunni world and itself engaged in its own civil nuclear program at Akkuyu with Russia, the episode illustrates the difficulty for the US to decouple energy, security, and diplomatic files in the Middle East without offering concrete guarantees on the Palestinian issue.
KEY POINTS
- Turkey's capital is watching closely as Trump stated that the civil nuclear deal "will be approved, but is totally contingent" upon Saudi Arabia's membership in the Abraham Accords.
- Ankara's government is aware that analyst H.A. Hellyer, from RUSI, warns that pushing for normalization in Riyadh "may not go very well".
- From Manila, Turkey's government took note as Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that any American nuclear deal would include guarantees against military conversion.
COGNITIVE BIASES IDENTIFIED
Turkey's government is closely watching official US statements, including those from Trump and Rubio, with little direct reaction reported from Saudi officials in Turkish articles.
Turkish sources prefer to cite Western analysis, such as the Atlantic Council and RUSI, to assess the regional consequences of the agreement.
There is limited coverage of Turkey's official response or the implications for Ankara's own civilian nuclear program at Akkuyu.
SOURCES (3)
Daily SabahCenter-right
MEDIUMSTATE MEDIA
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