The US gave Iran its nuclear capabilities. Now Trump is giving them to Saudi Arabia

July 24, 2026 — 3:00am

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The historic US-Saudi Arabia civilian nuclear agreement announced this week marks a geopolitical shift in the Middle East. It also sows the seeds of a future crisis in nuclear proliferation, illustrating yet again US President Donald Trump’s instinct for short-term transactional deals with problematic long-term consequences.

Under the 30-year agreement, American companies will build nuclear reactors and related nuclear infrastructure for the desert kingdom. The deal is a major commercial boost to the US nuclear industry, especially to Westinghouse Electric, whose AP1000 reactor has struggled to find major investors. It is also a victory for Saudi Arabia, which is exempt from conditions that previous US governments had insisted on. These include snap inspections and the collection of environmental samples anywhere in the country by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

After becoming president for the second time last year, Donald Trump moved swiftly to reward the cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence industries, which had poured millions into the campaign. Big-money Political Action Committees such as the pro-crypto group Fairshake and the pro-AI group Leading the Future wanted nuclear power to meet the city-sized electricity........

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