Conflict & Security
Israel says Saudi recognition would be a step toward Middle East peace
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Saudi Arabia's recognition of Israel would be a significant step toward peace in the Middle East.
The statement followed an announcement by the United States and Saudi Arabia of a deal to establish a civilian nuclear programme in the kingdom. President Donald Trump said the deal would depend on Riyadh normalising relations with Israel.
Netanyahu's office said Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords would be a historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East. It also said joint American and Israeli military action against what it called the genocidal regime in Tehran, and Israel's crushing of what it called Iran's terror axis, had created a possibility to expand the circle of peace.
The Abraham Accords are US-brokered normalisation agreements signed during Trump's first term. Under them, Israel established formal diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain for the first time, and later with Morocco. Sudan also signed the accords, but later fell into civil war and has not ratified or implemented them.
The agreements broke with the long-standing position in Arab countries that normalisation with Israel should wait until a Palestinian state was established. They were widely described as reshaping regional alignments around shared concerns about Iran rather than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Saudi Arabia, the region's largest economy and home to Islam's two holiest sites, has not joined the accords. Riyadh has maintained that it will not normalise relations with Israel without a clear path to Palestinian statehood.
The kingdom has long been seen as the most consequential possible addition to the Abraham Accords. Negotiations have advanced at various points before stalling. Days before Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, US officials said talks on Saudi-Israeli normalisation were making progress. Some analysts argued the attack was intended at least partly to derail a possible deal.
Update
The United States and Saudi Arabia announced a deal to establish a civilian nuclear programme in the kingdom.
President Donald Trump said the nuclear deal would depend on Riyadh normalising relations with Israel.
Netanyahu's office linked possible expansion of the Abraham Accords to joint American and Israeli military action against Tehran and what it called Israel's crushing of Iran's terror axis.
The source explains that Saudi Arabia has said it will not normalise relations with Israel without a clear path to Palestinian statehood.
US officials said days before Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that Saudi-Israeli normalisation talks were making progress.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 July 2026 at 14:03:08 UTC.
Update
Netanyahu's office said Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords would be a historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East.
The statement came after Trump said a US-Saudi nuclear deal would depend on Saudi recognition of Israel.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 July 2026 at 13:35:56 UTC.
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Israel said Saudi recognition would be historic for regional peace.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 July 2026 at 13:22:29 UTC.
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Trump said the deal's approval is subject to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords.
The Wall Street Journal reported that one possible provision would allow US companies to build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia.
The US Energy Department did not mention such a provision and did not comment when asked by AFP, while Trump wrote that there would be no enrichment of material.
US lawmakers from both parties and Israeli officials have previously opposed such a project over weapons proliferation concerns.
Marco Rubio, Chris Wright, Bernie Sanders and several nuclear policy experts gave reactions to the deal and its safeguards or risks.
The source says Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defence pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan last year.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 July 2026 at 12:44:13 UTC.
Update
Trump said the Saudi nuclear deal is contingent on Saudi Arabia recognizing Israel.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 July 2026 at 12:04:09 UTC.
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The source says the actual text of the US-Saudi nuclear deal has not yet been released.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said safeguards would be needed for congressional approval.
A Saudi analyst said the 30-year agreement could allow Saudi Arabia to build a uranium enrichment facility after a joint US-Saudi feasibility study.
US media reports said the agreement could potentially allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium on its own soil.
The source says the deal could affect Israel, Iran, China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates in different ways.
The source says the UAE may seek to renegotiate its own nuclear agreement with Washington if Saudi Arabia receives more favourable enrichment terms.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 July 2026 at 11:43:20 UTC.
Update
The text of the agreement was not immediately made public.
The Wall Street Journal reported that one provision could allow US companies to build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia.
The US Energy Department did not mention such a provision and did not comment when asked about it.
The deal will be submitted to Congress for review, with the Republican-controlled legislature described as unlikely to block it.
US lawmakers from both parties and Israeli officials have previously opposed such a project over nuclear weapons concerns.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the agreements meet high nuclear safety and nonproliferation standards.
Experts and analysts gave differing views on the deal, including concerns about enrichment and claims that it benefits the United States over Russia and China.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 July 2026 at 10:00:48 UTC.
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Rubio said Saudi Arabia seeks a peaceful, civil nuclear programme.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 July 2026 at 09:17:15 UTC.
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US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed two agreements, one on peaceful nuclear cooperation and one on bilateral safeguards.
The text of the agreements was not immediately published.
The Wall Street Journal reported that a provision could allow US companies to build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia; the US Energy Department statement did not mention this and did not comment when asked.
Bernie Sanders criticised the deal on X in the context of Trump’s war with Iran.
Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defense pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan last year.
The United States signed a nuclear agreement with the United Arab Emirates in 2009, and the UAE does not enrich its own uranium.
A drone struck a generator in May near the UAE’s Barakah nuclear plant, causing a fire.
Experts and policy figures offered differing views on whether the agreement strengthens US influence or weakens nonproliferation standards.
Source note: AFP news report published on 23 July 2026 at 00:41:55 UTC.
Update
The agreements were signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
The US Energy Department said one agreement covers peaceful nuclear cooperation and another covers bilateral safeguards.
The texts of the agreements were not immediately made public.
The Wall Street Journal reported that a provision could allow US companies to build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia, while the Energy Department statement did not mention such a provision and did not comment when asked by AFP.
The deal will be submitted to Congress for review, and the source says the Republican-controlled legislature is unlikely to block it.
US lawmakers from both parties and Israeli officials have previously opposed such a project over concerns that Saudi Arabia could eventually use it to develop nuclear weapons.
Saudi Arabia has long said it has the right to pursue a civilian nuclear program and last year signed a mutual defense pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan.
The agreement was signed under Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act.
Experts quoted in the source differed on the deal, with Matthew Kroenig warning against allowing enrichment in Saudi Arabia and Jennifer T. Gordon calling the agreement a win for the United States over Russia and China.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 23:45:35 UTC.
Update
The US Energy Department said two agreements were signed: one on peaceful nuclear cooperation and one on bilateral safeguards.
The text of the agreements was not immediately made public.
The Wall Street Journal reported that a provision could allow US companies to build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia, but the Energy Department statement did not mention such a provision.
The agreement will be submitted to Congress for review.
US lawmakers from both parties and Israeli officials have previously opposed such a project because of concerns about possible future nuclear weapons development.
The deal was signed under Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act.
Experts gave differing reactions, with Matthew Kroenig warning against allowing Saudi enrichment and Jennifer T. Gordon describing the agreement as a US gain over Russia and China.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 21:58:06 UTC.
Update
The US Energy Department said the agreements create a legal basis for a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar partnership that includes nuclear nonproliferation objectives.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the deal could allow US companies to build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia, but the Energy Department statement did not mention such a provision and the department did not comment to AFP.
The deal will be submitted to Congress for review, though the source says the Republican-controlled legislature is unlikely to block implementation.
US lawmakers from both parties and Israeli officials have opposed a Saudi civilian nuclear project because of fears it could eventually be used to develop nuclear weapons.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would not reach an agreement that leads to a proliferation risk.
The source adds regional context including the US-Iran war, Houthi threats to blockade Saudi ports, and recent Saudi-Houthi fire threatening a 2022 truce.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 21:20:24 UTC.
Update
The deal was described as a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed the pact with Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
The two ministers also signed a separate bilateral safeguards deal.
The US Energy Department said the two agreements create a legal foundation for a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar partnership.
The department said the partnership would advance economic and strategic objectives, including nuclear nonproliferation.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 20:54:28 UTC.
Update
The United States announced a nuclear cooperation pact with Saudi Arabia.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 20:47:04 UTC.
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The Wall Street Journal reported that a provision in the 30-year deal could allow US companies to build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia.
The agreement is expected to be submitted to Congress in the coming days, but congressional approval is not required for it to proceed.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to confirm the deal in Manila and referred questions to the White House.
Rubio said the United States would not make any agreement that creates a risk of nuclear proliferation.
The report adds context on opposition from US lawmakers and Israeli officials, Saudi Arabia's stated position, possible links to Israel normalization and a US defense pact, and tensions involving Iran and the Houthis.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 11:53:41 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The source does not say whether Saudi Arabia will accept normalisation with Israel under the terms described by Trump.
Source
AFP news report published on .