US President Donald Trump was reportedly furious that his energy secretary announced a civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, leading him to the shock move of then making it conditional on Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords.

According to a CNN report, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright did not tell Trump that he would be announcing the deal, and the move on Wednesday left many in the White House surprised and angry.

This was despite the fact that The Wall Street Journal had already reported the deal was being finalized a day prior to the announcement.

The deal would see US companies provide nuclear energy to Saudi Arabia, and included the possibility of nuclear enrichment taking place on Saudi territory, a provision that alarmed experts in nuclear proliferation.

Trump was reportedly further riled after watching criticism of the deal roll in from many conservative outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and Fox News.

While some had suggested that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had lobbied Trump at the last minute to add the condition, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the pair had not spoken in the interim.

CNN noted that Trump’s post on Truth Social on Thursday announcing that the already signed deal was conditional on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords came just minutes after a Fox News panel questioned the wisdom of the agreement.

Trump said on Thursday that the agreement would require Riyadh to normalize relations with Israel, prompting praise from Netanyahu’s office.

In his post on Truth Social, Trump........

© The Times of Israel