US President Donald Trump abruptly attached a new condition to a US-Saudi civilian nuclear agreement less than 24 hours after it was signed, demanding Riyadh join the Abraham Accords, US media reported Friday.
CNN, citing sources, said Trump was “angry” that Energy Secretary Chris Wright had unveiled the agreement without informing him in advance, and that the reaction intensified after critical coverage on Fox News and in the Wall Street Journal’s editorial pages.
Two Israeli sources told CNN that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to influence the deal, though the White House denied Trump and Netanyahu had spoken on the matter.
The nuclear cooperation agreement was signed Wednesday at the Energy Department in Washington by Wright and his Saudi counterpart, who joined via video link from Riyadh.
The statement released by the US Energy Department did not mention the Abraham Accords or any objection to Riyadh’s nuclear enrichment.
Trump reversed course Thursday in a Truth Social post, saying that the nuclear cooperation deal will be contingent on Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords.
“There will be no enrichment of material,” he added.
Asked whether Wright got ahead of the announcement, Trump told reporters at the Oval Office: “No, nobody got out ahead.”
“They and others didn’t want to do it because of the problem that they had with Iran. You don’t have that problem anymore,” he said.
“It’s a two-way street, and we think it’s very important for the future of the Middle East. The Abraham Accords have been incredibly successful,” he added.
