The Trump administration is giving Saudi Arabia exactly what it wants. For what?
What kind of negotiator gives the other side everything that it wants with the hope of eventually getting something in return?
It’s a question that even some of President Trump’s own allies are asking after his administration signed a landmark deal to develop a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia using American technology. The deal’s opponents, in the United States and Israel, worry that the new pact might ultimately allow for uranium enrichment—and if so, that Trump just gave Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman the tools he needs to build a bomb. What did the U.S. require in return? Pretty much zip.
Summary
The Trump administration has signed a major 30-year agreement to help Saudi Arabia develop a civilian nuclear-power program using American technology. The administration presents the deal as an “America First” victory that could generate billions of dollars for American companies and exclude Chinese or Russian competitors. But the article argues that the United States appears to have given Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman much of what he wanted without securing meaningful concessions in return.
For years, Saudi nuclear cooperation and stronger U.S. security guarantees were supposed to be bargaining chips used to persuade Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords. The Biden administration pursued such a package, but negotiations collapsed after the October 7 attack and the Gaza war made normalization politically unacceptable to Saudi leaders. The Saudis then waited for Trump, correctly anticipating that he would offer more favorable terms. Trump subsequently approved a defense agreement, including advanced F-35 fighter jets, and now the nuclear agreement—neither initially requiring Saudi recognition of Israel.
Only after the nuclear deal was announced did Trump claim that it was “totally subject” to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords. The article portrays this as an improvised condition added in response to criticism, rather than an enforceable requirement negotiated into the agreement. Because Mohammed bin Salman continues to demand a credible path toward Palestinian statehood—something Benjamin Netanyahu opposes—Saudi normalization with Israel remains unlikely. Critics therefore fear Trump may eventually abandon this new condition, leaving the Saudis with the benefits while sacrificing America’s remaining leverage.
The most serious concern involves nuclear proliferation. The agreement reportedly does not categorically prohibit Saudi uranium enrichment or plutonium separation, nor does it require the strongest monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. American companies would build Saudi reactors, while the two governments would study whether Saudi Arabia might eventually enrich its own uranium. Although enrichment can produce reactor fuel, the same technology can also provide a pathway toward nuclear weapons. Mohammed bin Salman has previously said Saudi Arabia would quickly pursue a bomb if Iran obtained one.
Supporters contend that close cooperation with the United States would make Saudi activities easier to monitor and prevent Riyadh from turning to China or Russia. Critics respond that the United States already has a safer model: its agreement with the United Arab Emirates, which contains firm safeguards against enrichment and nuclear-weapons proliferation. Giving Saudi Arabia looser treatment could also establish a dangerous precedent, allowing Iran and other countries to claim that inspections by friendly Russian or Chinese authorities are sufficient.
Overall, the article depicts the agreement as a remarkably one-sided act of diplomacy. Trump has surrendered valuable defense and nuclear concessions before obtaining Saudi recognition of Israel, meaningful progress for Palestinians, or binding nonproliferation protections. Rather than demonstrating Trump’s supposed negotiating skill, the deal suggests an impulsive foreign policy in which major American bargaining chips are given away first and conditions are improvised afterward.
