The Trump administration signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia on July 22, 2026, allowing American companies to build and operate commercial nuclear power plants in the kingdom. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed the pact, which the Department of Energy announced the same day. NPR

The agreement gives U.S. firms priority access to Saudi Arabia's civilian nuclear energy program, including the ability to supply reactors and fuel. The Department of Energy said the deal is expected to last decades and be worth billions of dollars.

The signatories also signed an accompanying safeguards agreement alongside the main cooperation pact. The DOE had previously referred to the arrangement as a "Joint Declaration on the Completion of Negotiations on Civil Nuclear Cooperation." DOE

The deal now heads to Congress, which has 90 days to review it under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act. Section 123 agreements govern U.S. nuclear cooperation with other countries and set the nonproliferation terms each partner must follow. If Congress does not pass a joint resolution of disapproval within that window, the agreement takes effect.

The pact does not include what are known as "gold standard" provisions, which would prohibit Saudi Arabia from enriching uranium or reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. Enrichment is the process of concentrating uranium to fuel a reactor, but the same technology can, at higher levels, produce material for a nuclear weapon. Reprocessing extracts plutonium from spent fuel, which can also be used for weapons. The agreement also does not require Riyadh to adopt the Additional Protocol, an optional add-on that would subject Saudi nuclear activities to greater oversight from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

An administration memo seen by NPR states that the U.S. "does not support a Saudi nuclear weapons program" and that the agreement is limited to peaceful cooperation on nuclear energy. The memo says the agreement includes nonproliferation terms under the Atomic Energy Act. It also states that the pact provides a legal pathway for nuclear fuel cycle cooperation but does not obligate the U.S. to transfer any fuel cycle capabilities or technologies to Saudi Arabia. NPR

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) said on X that Congress should approve the deal only if it includes the same gold-standard safeguards as the U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates. The UAE pact, signed in 2009, forswore domestic enrichment and reprocessing. Sherman's statement signals that the absence of equivalent restrictions in the Saudi agreement will be a focal point of congressional review.

The broader context here is that the omission of the gold standard is the central tension in this agreement. U.S. nuclear cooperation agreements under Section 123 vary in how strictly they guard against proliferation, and the decision to forgo a categorical ban on enrichment and reprocessing is a deliberate policy choice by the administration. The memo's language, which offers a legal pathway for fuel cycle cooperation while disclaiming any obligation to transfer those capabilities, leaves the question of future enrichment on Saudi soil unresolved rather than foreclosed.

Matthew Bunn, a nuclear proliferation expert at Harvard's Kennedy School, said the deal may make negotiating a reasonable agreement with Iran more difficult. The concern among nonproliferation analysts is that granting Saudi Arabia access to nuclear technology without a binding enrichment ban could complicate the broader regional nonproliferation architecture, particularly given Tehran's own nuclear program.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has previously said that if Iran were to develop a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would follow suit. That statement, made before the current agreement, frames the regional stakes that members of Congress and nonproliferation experts are weighing as they assess the deal.

The 90-day congressional review period will test whether the administration can hold together support for an agreement that delivers commercial opportunities for the U.S. nuclear industry while navigating proliferation concerns on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers in both parties have previously pressed for gold-standard terms in Saudi nuclear cooperation, and the House and Senate foreign affairs committees are expected to hold hearings during the review window.