Democratic Senators Ed Markey and Jeff Merkley are leading a congressional push to block a civilian nuclear deal signed by the Trump administration with Saudi Arabia in July 2026. The opposition is fueled by classified U.S. intelligence warning that Riyadh has not ruled out developing nuclear weapons. Critics point out that the deal lacks 'Gold Standard' safeguards, permits uranium enrichment up to 20%, and fails to require strict IAEA Additional Protocol inspections.
Terms of the U.S.-Saudi nuclear agreement
- ▪The U.S.-Saudi nuclear agreement signed in July 2026 does not require Saudi Arabia to adopt the International Atomic Energy Agency's Additional Protocol for broader facility inspections
- ▪The Trump administration signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia in July 2026 to build four nuclear plants in the country.
- ▪The U.S.-Saudi nuclear agreement signed in July 2026 initially limits uranium enrichment to below 5% but permits the limit to rise to 20% after an additional study and written agreement
Assessments of Saudi nuclear weapons ambitions
- ▪Classified U.S. intelligence assessments provided to Congress warn that Saudi Arabia has not ruled out developing a nuclear weapons program.
- ▪Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stated in 2018 that Saudi Arabia would develop a nuclear weapon if Iran did so.
- ▪The State Department's assessment of the U.S.-Saudi nuclear agreement signed in July 2026 expressed more confidence in the deal's safeguards and Saudi assurances than the intelligence community's assessment
Senate letters opposing the agreement
- ▪Senators Tim Kaine, Chris Van Hollen, Peter Welch, and Ron Wyden signed the September 25, 2026, letter opposing the U.S.-Saudi nuclear agreement signed in July 2026
- ▪Senators Markey and Merkley led a bipartisan group of senators on September 16, 2026, pressing the Trump administration to declassify two side letters accompanying the proposed U.S.-Saudi nuclear cooperation agreement
- ▪Democratic Senators Ed Markey and Jeff Merkley led a group of lawmakers in sending a letter on September 25, 2026, to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding the Trump administration abandon the Saudi nuclear deal signed in July 2026
Nonproliferation concerns from experts and opponents
- ▪Opponents of the U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal signed in July 2026 argue it fails the nonproliferation "Gold Standard" by not banning domestic uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing, commitments previously made by the United Arab Emirates
- ▪Twenty nuclear nonproliferation experts, including former IAEA director general Hans Blix, warned in a letter to Congress that the U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal's inspection arrangements could obscure secret weapons development
Contrast with United States policy on Iran
- ▪Democratic senators accused President Trump of hypocrisy for launching a war against Iran to stop its uranium enrichment while simultaneously seeking to grant Saudi Arabia access to enrichment technologies.
- ▪The 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated under President Obama restricted Iranian uranium enrichment to 3.67% for 15 years, whereas the Trump-Saudi deal could allow enrichment up to 20%.
- ▪The Trump administration conducted joint Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in 2025 and 2026, though Iran's enriched uranium is believed to have survived under the rubble.
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