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Under Trump, Saudi Civil Nuclear Talks Delinked From Israel Recognition, Sources Say

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

The United States is no longer demanding Saudi Arabia normalize ties with Israel as a condition for progress on civil nuclear cooperation talks, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters ahead of US President Donald Trump‘s visit next week.

Dropping the demand that Saudi Arabia establish diplomatic relations with Israel would be a major concession by Washington. Under former President Joe Biden, nuclear talks were an element of a wider US-Saudi deal tied to normalization and to Riyadh’s goal of a defense treaty with Washington.

The kingdom has repeatedly said it would not recognize Israel without a Palestinian state, frustrating Biden administration attempts to expand the Abraham Accords signed during Trump‘s first term. Under those accords the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco normalized relations with Israel. Progress toward Saudi recognition of Israel has been halted by fury in Arab countries over the war raging in Gaza. The nuclear talks had also stumbled over Washington’s non-proliferation concerns.

In a possible sign of a new approach, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that Saudi Arabia and the United States were on a “pathway” to a civil nuclear agreement when he visited the kingdom in April.

“When we have something to announce, you will hear it from the president. Any reports on this are speculative,” US National Security Council spokesman James Hewitt told Reuters in response to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia’s government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Even without the normalization requirement for civil nuclear talks to progress, and despite unpacking the issue from a wider defense treaty, a deal is not yet in close reach, one of the sources said.

One sticking point is Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act that allows cooperation with other countries developing civil nuclear capabilities but specifies nonproliferation criteria including limiting uranium enrichment.

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman has said that the kingdom would seek to enrich uranium and sell the product.

One of the sources said the kingdom was still not willing to sign a so-called 123 agreement, which would prevent enrichment or reprocessing of plutonium made in reactors – two routes that have the potential to culminate in nuclear weapons.

Secretary Wright previously told Reuters a 123 agreement would be a prerequisite to any deal.

However, there are several ways to structure a deal to achieve both countries’ objectives, Wright has said.

One solution being discussed is a “black box” arrangement where only US personnel would have access to a uranium enrichment facility on Saudi soil, the same source said.

SELL MORE OIL

Riyadh wants to build nuclear generation capacity as it seeks to diversify its economy away from oil. Nuclear power could also help free up more crude barrels for export.

Arms control advocates have previously expressed concern about a Saudi nuclear program because de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said the kingdom would seek to quickly develop nuclear weapons should its regional rival Iran do so.

The US and Iran are currently holding talks over Tehran’s nuclear program, which Washington and Western allies say is geared towards producing weapons. Iran insists it is purely for civil purposes.

US Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday described the talks with Iran as “so far, so good” and said there was a deal to be made that would reintegrate Iran into the global economy while preventing it from getting a nuclear weapon.

Saudi Arabia and the United States are set to discuss a number of blockbuster economic deals during Trump‘s visit next week, with the US poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth well over $100 billion, sources have told Reuters.

Trump has said Riyadh should “round up” a planned investment package in the US to $1 trillion from an initial $600 billion.

The trip is Trump‘s second visit abroad, after a short trip to Rome for the pope’s funeral, since he returned to office in January. In his first term a lavish trip to Saudi Arabia marked his first overseas stop.

Trump fostered close ties with Gulf states including Saudi Arabia during his first term.

The country invested $2 billion in a firm formed by Jared Kushner, Trump‘s son-in-law and former aide, after Trump left office, and there are plans to build two Trump towers in Jeddah and Riyadh.

The post Under Trump, Saudi Civil Nuclear Talks Delinked From Israel Recognition, Sources Say first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Security Warning to Israelis Vacationing Abroad Ahead of holidays

A passenger arrives to a terminal at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

i24 NewsAhead of the Jewish High Holidays, Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) published the latest threat assessment to Israelis abroad from terrorist groups to the public on Sunday, in order to increase the Israeli public’s awareness of the existing terrorist threats around the world and encourage individuals to take preventive action accordingly.

The NSC specified that the warning is an up-to-date reflection of the main trends in the activities of terrorist groups around the world and their impact on the level of threat posed to Israelis abroad during these times, but the travel warnings and restrictions themselves are not new.

“As the Gaza war continues and in parallel with the increasing threat of terrorism, the National Security Headquarters stated it has recognized a trend of worsening and increasing violent antisemitic incidents and escalating steps by anti-Israel groups, to the point of physically harming Israelis and Jews abroad. This is in light of, among other things, the anti-Israel narrative and the negative media campaign by pro-Palestinian elements — a trend that may encourage and motivate extremist elements to carry out terrorist activities against Israelis or Jews abroad,” the statement read.

“Therefore, the National Security Bureau is reinforcing its recommendation to the Israeli public to act with responsibility during this time when traveling abroad, to check the status of the National Security Bureau’s travel warnings (before purchasing tickets to the destination,) and to act in accordance with the travel warning recommendations and the level of risk in the country they are visiting,” it listed, adding that, as illustrated in the past year, these warnings are well-founded and reflect a tangible and valid threat potential.

The statement also emphasized the risk of sharing content on social media networks indicating current or past service in the Israeli security forces, as these posts increase the risk of being marked by various parties as a target. “Therefore, the National Security Council recommends that you do not upload to social networks, in any way, content that indicates service in the security forces, operational activity, or similar content, as well as real-time locations.”

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Israel Intensifies Gaza City Bombing as Rubio Arrives

Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southward after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip September 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Israeli forces destroyed at least 30 residential buildings in Gaza City and forced thousands of people from their homes, Palestinian officials said, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived on Sunday to discuss the future of the conflict.

Israel has said it plans to seize the city, where about a million Palestinians have been sheltering, as part of its declared aim of eliminating the terrorist group Hamas, and has intensified attacks on what it has called Hamas’ last bastion.

The group’s political leadership, which has engaged in on-and-off negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal, was targeted by Israel in an airstrike in Doha on Tuesday in an attack that drew widespread condemnation.

Qatar will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Monday to discuss the next moves. Rubio said Washington wanted to talk about how to free the 48 hostages – of whom 20 are believed to be still alive – still held by Hamas in Gaza and rebuild the coastal strip.

“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them (the Israeli leadership). We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” Rubio said before heading to Israel where he will stay until Tuesday.

ABRAHAM ACCORDS AT RISK

He was expected to visit the Western Wall Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem on Sunday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and hold talks with him during the visit.

US officials described Tuesday’s strike on the territory of a close US ally as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests. Rubio and US President Donald Trump both met Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Friday.

Netanyahu signed an agreement on Thursday to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state – a move the United Arab Emirates warned would undermine the US-brokered Abraham accords that normalized UAE relations with Israel.

Israel, which blocked all food from entering Gaza for 11 weeks earlier this year, has been allowing more aid into the enclave since late July to prevent further food shortages, though the United Nations says far more is needed.

It says it wants civilians to leave Gaza City before it sends more ground forces in. Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have left but hundreds of thousands remain in the area. Hamas has called on people not to leave.

Israeli army forces have been operating inside at least four eastern suburbs for weeks, turning most of at least three of them into wastelands. It is closing in on the center and the western areas of the territory, where most of the displaced people are taking shelter.

Many are reluctant to leave, saying there is not enough space or safety in the south, where Israel has told them to go to what it has designated as a humanitarian zone.

Some say they cannot afford to leave while others say they were hoping the Arab leaders meeting on Monday in Qatar would pressure Israel to scrap its planned offensive.

“The bombardment intensified everywhere and we took down the tents, more than twenty families, we do not know where to go,” said Musbah Al-Kafarna, displaced in Gaza City.

Israel said it had completed five waves of air strikes on Gaza City over the past week, targeting more than 500 sites, including Hamas reconnaissance and sniper sites, buildings containing tunnel openings and weapons depots.

Local officials, who do not distinguish between militant and civilian casualties, say at least 40 people were killed by Israeli fire across the enclave, a least 28 in Gaza City alone.

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Turkey Warns of Escalation as Israel Expands Strikes Beyond Gaza

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not seen) at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, May 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas

i24 NewsAn Israeli strike targeting Hamas officials in Qatar has sparked unease among several Middle Eastern countries that host leaders of the group, with Turkey among the most alarmed.

Officials in Ankara are increasingly worried about how far Israel might go in pursuing those it holds responsible for the October 7 attacks.

Israel’s prime minister effectively acknowledged that the Qatar operation failed to eliminate the Hamas leadership, while stressing the broader point the strike was meant to make: “They enjoy no immunity,” the government said.

On X, Prime Minister Netanyahu went further, writing that “the elimination of Hamas leaders would put an end to the war.”

A senior Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, summed up Ankara’s reaction: “The attack in Qatar showed that the Israeli government is ready to do anything.”

Legally and diplomatically, Turkey occupies a delicate position. As a NATO member, any military operation or targeted killing on its soil could inflame tensions within the alliance and challenge mutual security commitments.

Analysts caution, however, that Israel could opt for covert measures, operations carried out without public acknowledgement, a prospect that has increased anxiety in governments across the region.

Israeli officials remain defiant. In an interview with Ynet, Minister Ze’ev Elkin said: “As long as we have not stopped them, we will pursue them everywhere in the world and settle our accounts with them.” The episode underscores growing fears that efforts to hunt Hamas figures beyond Gaza could widen regional friction and complicate diplomatic relationships.

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