US Signs Multi-Billion Nuclear Export Deal With Saudi Arabia

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The Trump administration announced a major civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, after decades of on-and-off conversations between the country and the Obama, Biden and Trump White Houses.

The Department of Energy confirmed in a press release that Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed two agreements that would allow private American nuclear companies to export to the Saudi market.

It would represent “a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar partnership” whereby private U.S. nuclear companies can help develop a civilian nuclear power program in the Middle Eastern kingdom, the DOE release said.

“These agreements reflect our two nations’ shared commitment to strengthening U.S.-Saudi commercial relations, delivering prosperity at home and security to our allies abroad,” Wright said in a statement. “Rest assured, these agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and nonproliferation, while relying on the world’s best nuclear technology and scientists, designed right here in the United States.”

The announcement comes as the war between the U.S. and Iran again intensifies. Saudi Arabia, which hosts U.S. military bases, has been struck several times by Iranian missiles, and Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen threatened a blockade against the kingdom in the Red Sea this week.

The Saudi deal also comes amid the president’s campaign to boost nuclear power in America and abroad, which includes a Department of Energy program that recently helped reach a major developmental milestone in four advanced nuclear reactors.

DOE has yet to announce many key details about the agreement — even to key members of Congress.

“I have talked to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about this on a number of occasions and both of us have been in agreement that an appropriate nuclear agreement would be in the best interest of both of our countries,” Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told POLITICO in a statement. “Idaho is the birthplace of nuclear energy, so this matters deeply to me. I look forward to seeing the details of the agreement and working with the Administration to review it.”

Depending on the specifics of the deal, federal law will either require congressional approval before taking effect or will allow Congress 60 days to block it.

The principal agreement with the Saudis is known as a 123 agreement, so named because they get their authority from Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act, which allows for the transfer of nuclear technologies and materials abroad by private American parties if foreign countries agree to certain guardrails.

123 agreements are a decades-old diplomatic tool, and a key part of President Donald Trump’s nuclear strategy. In May 2025, Trump signed an executive order that featured a directive to the State Department to “aggressively pursue at least 20 new 123 Agreements” by January 2029.

Since then, the Trump administration has signed one pact with Thailand, concluded negotiations with El Salvador and initiated negotiations with Malaysia.

It’s also exploring nuclear power cooperation with Bahrain and Ecuador. But an agreement with Saudi Arabia has remained elusive — and highly controversial — for a decade.

Throughout 2018 and 2019 , then-Energy Secretary Rick Perry worked to negotiate a 123 agreement to export U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. Congress pushed back with an investigation and a bipartisan bill that would have restricted any agreement, and the first Trump administration never reached a final accord.

Historically, a major hurdle to a Saudi deal was that 123 agreements typically require the International Atomic Energy Agency to supervise and monitor any nuclear program, in part to check for any potential use of nuclear materials for weapons. In 2018, bin Salman — the de facto ruler of the kingdom — said that his country would develop nuclear weapons if Iran does .

“The Saudis wish to keep open the option of pursuing nuclear weapons,” said Thomas Countryman, a former acting undersecretary of state for arms control and international security. “The additional protocol restricts future options of Saudi Arabia with a nuclear program.”

“When I discussed this on three occasions with the Saudis … 10 years ago, I made clear that we have to have a Saudi additional protocol signed with the International Atomic Energy Agency,” Countryman, who is now chair of the non-profit Arms Control Association, continued. “That was the point that prevented them from moving forward into actual negotiations during the Obama administration.”

Tuesday reporting from the Wall Street Journal said the agreement forgoes the typical IAEA additional protocols in favor of a different monitoring program, but the administration has yet to announce details about how future transfers of nuclear materials and technology will be supervised.

CORRECTION: Editing changes have been made to correct the timeline for the 123 agreement goals in the May 2025 executive order.