Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump dropped a bombshell when he suggested that the US was ready sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkeyoverturning the previous ban. Speaking to CNN, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was blunt warn that modern aircraft can significantly weakening Israel’s military edge in the region.
Two weeks have passed, Trump has dropped another bombshell, but this time the political and strategic damage to the Israeli government is greater. Washington has has been approved 30-year agreement with Saudi Arabia to share US civilian nuclear technology. More importantly, the agreement could allow the Saudis to set up a uranium enrichment facility on their soil under US supervision.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump dropped a bombshell when he suggested that the US was ready sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkeyoverturning the previous ban. Speaking to CNN, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was blunt warn that modern aircraft can significantly weakening Israel’s military edge in the region.
Two weeks have passed, Trump has dropped another bombshell, but this time the political and strategic damage to the Israeli government is greater. Washington has has been approved 30-year agreement with Saudi Arabia to share US civilian nuclear technology. More importantly, the agreement could allow the Saudis to set up a uranium enrichment facility on their soil under US supervision.
This is very embarrassing for The Israeli government has warned for a long time that Iran’s nuclear weapons capability could cause a major proliferation effect in the Middle East. Trump’s deal could make this far-reaching effect a reality—without even the comfort of a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal that was once the basis of The Biden administration’s negotiating system for more US commitments to Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat did his best to convey calm, saying in a interview and Israeli Army Radio on Wednesday that the Trump administration “has no intention of endangering Israel.” Barkat he insisted that if the Saudis were interested in a civilian nuclear program, “Israel could deal with it.” When asked definitively whether Israel could live with a nuclear-capable Saudi Arabia, Barkat coyly replied that he did not want to focus on the issue, trying instead to focus on broader regional trends, including the possibility of Riyadh eventually joining the Abraham Accords.
Perhaps in response to the growing opposition, Trump has now has been published on social media that the agreement “is entirely dependent on Saudi Arabia joining the respected and successful Abraham Treaty.” At the same time, he insisted that the plan will be approved and did not clarify what will happen if the Saudis, as expected, are not ready to officially repair relations with Israel.
Regardless of whether Trump’s new status quo is real or just a tactical bluff to appease critics, Netanyahu has already jumped on the bandwagon. to congratulatewhile his office issued a statement praising the move as “a historic leap for peace in the Middle East.” By promoting the idea that Saudi Arabia is aligned with Israel against Iran, Netanyahu’s government will try to avoid an upheaval from the deal.
For its part, the Trump administration insists that strict American oversight will ensure that there is no risk of the Saudi nuclear project being diverted to military purposes, with the president even posting on social media that “there will be no wealth.” The Israeli defense establishment has also expressed similar views, saying that US involvement is better than Russian or Chinese support that the Saudis could seek, which would pose a greater risk to Israel.
Yet these arguments leave little reason for reassurance. In 2009, when the Obama administration reached a historic civilian nuclear deal with the United Arab Emirates, Washington insisted on strict conditions banning domestic enrichment and reprocessing of spent fuel. In 2011, the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group adopted guidelines on the transfer of products and discouraged the transfer of enrichment and reprocessing technologies. Washington has long demanded that foreign partners accept these legally binding commitments, known as “the gold standard.”
Most importantly, the proposed US-Saudi nuclear deal does not include the existing “gold standard” protection system. In addition, when the UAE signature The International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol, giving inspectors scope to conduct rapid inspections, Saudi Arabia operates under a very limited safeguards agreement and has he refused to sign additional protocol.
What makes this agreement even more frightening is that the Saudis have never hidden their nuclear ambitions. Saudi leaders have ever he said from time to time that if Iran crosses the nuclear threshold, they will rush to acquire their nuclear military capability. Saudi Arabia has the resources, the technical know-how, and the ability to deal with that threat.
Israel has historically opposed any measures that strengthen the offensive capabilities of regional nations. The prospect of any country in the Middle East enriching uranium has always scared Israel because of the risk of it being diverted for military purposes. If Riyadh is given the green light, nations such as Egypt and Turkey will demand equal rights to enrich uranium. Saudi Arabia is not currently an enemy of Israel or the United States, but no one can say who will lead the country in 20 years. After all, Israel once shared a strategic partnership with Iran, where the shah initiated a civilian nuclear program with Washington’s blessing. Today, that country and its nuclear program are considered a serious threat.
Hawkish former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman he told it Kan’s public broadcaster said on Wednesday that every military nuclear program begins as a civilian project. Iran’s Bushehr reactor, for example, provided the basis for that country’s weapons enrichment program. Lieberman insisted, “The agreement to allow enrichment on Saudi soil crosses a red line. It puts the entire Middle East into a mad nuclear arms race.” He added that the agreement was “absolutely unacceptable.”
When the Biden administration negotiated a civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, it was clearly dependent on a normalization agreement with Israel. However, despite Trump’s new stance on the Abraham Accords, there is no legalization agreement on the table, because the Israeli government is not ready to consider a smaller agreement on Palestinian statehood that could give the Saudis political cover to sign the agreement. Under the Trump deal, the Middle East risks spreading without diplomatic success. It is the worst of all worlds for Israel.
The contract is estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars. It aims to ensure US trade dominance against Saudi Arabia nuclear infrastructure while locking out foreign opponents. That it could simultaneously start a regional arms race seems to be a secondary concern for Trump.
Netanyahu famous addressed a joint session of the US Congress in 2015 in an attempt to block Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. The Israeli leader was defeated, but three years later, during Trump’s first term, the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal. At the time, the IDF Chief of Staff Station Eisenkotnow he is Netanyahu’s most suitable opponent opinion pollshe saw the 2015 agreement as a “strategic change.” The collapse of the agreement broke the pillars of protection shaking off Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Israel later attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities in a 12-day war in June 2025 before joining the US in a larger attack on Iran earlier this year. Although these strikes have set back Iran’s nuclear program, much longer strategic implications for the region and elsewhere are more worried as the war continues.
The post-war environment will give Tehran even more incentive to abandon its deterrence strategy and accelerate its race for the bomb. The conflict has cleared the field for a more hard-line leadership in Iran that will be determined to prioritize the use of weapons, amid military intelligence. assessment have revealed that Iran has regained access to many of its missile sites, launchers, and underground facilities.
Giving Saudi Arabia the green light for enrichment under these circumstances is likely to strengthen Iran’s drive to acquire a nuclear deterrent. It believes that the United States went to war with Iran to prevent it from getting a nuclear weapon, but now it is acting in a way that is an open invitation for Tehran to acquire weapons. Once again, Trump has acted with complete disregard for any long-term consequences.
At the same time, having already burned his bridges with the Democrats of the US Congress, Netanyahu now has no power to defeat Trump. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are likely to mount an uphill battle against the deal, but a dangerous precedent has already been set.
