US President Donald Trump surprised everybody with a dramatic announcement earlier today on his Truth Social media platform that the nuclear agreement he is planning with Saudi Arabia yesterday will only be implemented if the Saudis joint the Abraham accords.
He wrote, “The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!) being made between the United States Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia, which pertains only to non-military use such as the ones that Iran and UAE (and others) already have, will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords. The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD TRUMP.”
This announcement will be music to Israeli ears, as in recent days it has been reported in US and Israeli media that Jerusalem has expressed deep concern about the emerging deal.
Over the past year, the indications have been that Riyadh is not interested, at least at this stage, in joining the Abraham Accords.
The clearest sign of the recent tensions in relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia arise from the India/Middle East/Europe Corridor (IMEC) project, which was announced in 2023 and was meant to create a trade route connecting India to Europe via the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel. It was recently reported, however, that Riyadh was examining the possibility of changing the route so that would pass through Syria and bypass Israel.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are promoting a plan to connect railways via Jordan and Syria, which could link the Gulf states to Turkey and from there to Europe. If these plans mature, Israel could lose the central role intended for it in the original vision of the corridor, illustrating that the lack of progress towards normalization with Saudi Arabia could exact from Israel not only a political price, but also an economic one.
Now it suddenly seems that Saudi Arabia’s nuclear dream goes through Jerusalem. The main question is whether Riyadh is ready for it.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on July 23, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.
