Nuclear deal with USA and Saudi Arabia

Lukaris · Jul 22, 2026

Well a new major development has happened in the ever volatile Middle East. Stability of Saudi Arabia has probably always been a pragmatic necessity in general. Now it seems that worldwide stability is almost dependent on this and at greater risk if Saudi Arabia would suffer instability.

From the National Review article:

The Saudis rejected the “gold standard,” as it’s described in nonproliferation parlance: a legally binding commitment to neither enrich uranium domestically nor reprocess spent nuclear fuel rods. Beyond that, the Saudis also rejected the “Additional Protocol” in which the International Atomic Energy Agency would have a role in monitoring and inspecting the Kingdom’s nuclear facilities.

What Do We Get Out of the Saudi Nuclear Deal? | National Review

The geostrategic benefits remain as murky as the terms of the agreement itself.

www.nationalreview.com

Lukaris · Jul 22, 2026

New York post article on this development:

Trump approves Saudi Arabia nuclear deal that could see Middle Eastern nation enriching own uranium

President Trump approved a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could lead to the Middle Eastern kingdom enriching its own uranium, the administration announced.

nypost.com

The Biden administration had also pursued a US/Saudi nuclear arrangement but that was dependent on the Saudis normalizing relations with Israel. Trump ignored any requirement for the Saudis to normalize relations with Israel.

High Fidelity · Jul 23, 2026

What a remarkably stupid deal if this is not the same as the UAE's deal precluding them from enriching their own uranium.

No Muslim country should be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, or possess the means of doing so.

Desk trauma · Jul 23, 2026

High Fidelity said:
No Muslim country should be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, or possess the means of doing so.

28 years too late on that.

High Fidelity · Jul 23, 2026

Desk trauma said:
28 years too late on that.

Indeed, no need to make it any worse.

durangodawood · Jul 23, 2026

High Fidelity said:
What a remarkably stupid deal if this is not the same as the UAE's deal precluding them from enriching their own uranium.

No Muslim country should be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, or possess the means of doing so.

Trump family has too many personal business interests in Saudi Arabia for them to say no.

Aryeh Jay · Jul 23, 2026

durangodawood said:
Trump family has too many personal business interests in Saudi Arabia for them to say no.

Hans Blaster · Jul 23, 2026

High Fidelity said:
No Muslim country should be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, or possess the means of doing so.

What about any country dedicated to any religion?

Laodicean60 · Jul 23, 2026

Lukaris said:
Well a new major development has happened in the ever volatile Middle East. Stability of Saudi Arabia has probably always been a pragmatic necessity in general. Now it seems that worldwide stability is almost dependent on this and at greater risk if Saudi Arabia would suffer instability.

From the National Review article:

The Saudis rejected the “gold standard,” as it’s described in nonproliferation parlance: a legally binding commitment to neither enrich uranium domestically nor reprocess spent nuclear fuel rods. Beyond that, the Saudis also rejected the “Additional Protocol” in which the International Atomic Energy Agency would have a role in monitoring and inspecting the Kingdom’s nuclear facilities.

What Do We Get Out of the Saudi Nuclear Deal? | National Review

The geostrategic benefits remain as murky as the terms of the agreement itself.

www.nationalreview.com

I don't like it. Why try to denuke one and create another? Because 50 years from now they may not be friends.

Say it aint so · Jul 23, 2026

So how is this going to be taken by the new more hardline regime now in Iran come nuclear weapons?

wing2000 · Jul 23, 2026

Lukaris said:
The Biden administration had also pursued a US/Saudi nuclear arrangement but that was dependent on the Saudis normalizing relations with Israel. Trump ignored any requirement for the Saudis to normalize relations with Israel.

Apparently, Trump has now added that condition according to reporting today.

ThatRobGuy · Friday at 6:49 PM

Lukaris said:
New York post article on this development:

Trump approves Saudi Arabia nuclear deal that could see Middle Eastern nation enriching own uranium

President Trump approved a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could lead to the Middle Eastern kingdom enriching its own uranium, the administration announced.

nypost.com

The Biden administration had also pursued a US/Saudi nuclear arrangement but that was dependent on the Saudis normalizing relations with Israel. Trump ignored any requirement for the Saudis to normalize relations with Israel.

That could go either way...

It could be bad (for obvious reasons), but it could be good to have another country over there that's a check on Israel, that's not run by someone quite as crazy as the Mullahs in Iran. Obviously I'm not saying Muhammed bin Salman is some sort of angel...but he's notably less terrible than the Ayatollah, and has at least showed a baseline level of interest in modernizing a bit and and at least moving a little bit in the right direction.

And some of that decision could be based on optics.

Right now, from the vantage point of a lot people (myself included to a degree), Trump, along with several of his predecessors, have been dog-walked by Israel and have "bent the knee" to varying degrees and perceived as taking orders from them and letting them dictate what happens in the region.

Those kinds of "well, we gotta make sure we do what Israel wants if we're going to make any deal" has created a fracturing on the right with an increasing number of people in the "Tucker Carlson camp" splintering away.

And knowing what's at stake in the upcoming mid-terms and then in 2028, and what's being said online about him (Trump's the kind of guy who absolutely obsessively scrolls his feeds to see what's being said about him on social media), removing the "Normalize relations with Israel" stipulation could possibly be just a "See!!!, Netanyahu's not the boss of me" virtue signal to win back some people he's recently lost.

I happened notice over the past few weeks, JD Vance has also adopted a more "Israel-neutral" tone to some of his rhetoric as well in some recent interviews.

There's been a handful of times where Trump has adopted a "tough talk, I don't take no crap, not even from Israel" tone, and it typically coincides with whenever there's a Joe Rogan or Tucker Carlson guest that talks about how he's bowing to Israel and clips of it go viral... but it's usually short lived, and in a week, he's back to doing what Netanyahu wants.

So we'll see how this shakes out.

Lukaris · Friday at 8:03 PM

ThatRobGuy said:
That could go either way...

It could be bad (for obvious reasons), but it could be good to have another country over there that's a check on Israel, that's not run by someone quite as crazy as the Mullahs in Iran. Obviously I'm not saying Muhammed bin Salman is some sort of angel...but he's notably less terrible than the Ayatollah, and has at least showed a baseline level of interest in modernizing a bit and and at least moving a little bit in the right direction.

And some of that decision could be based on optics.

Right now, from the vantage point of a lot people (myself included to a degree), Trump, along with several of his predecessors, have been dog-walked by Israel and have "bent the knee" to varying degrees and perceived as taking orders from them and letting them dictate what happens in the region.

Those kinds of "well, we gotta make sure we do what Israel wants if we're going to make any deal" has created a fracturing on the right with an increasing number of people in the "Tucker Carlson camp" splintering away.

And knowing what's at stake in the upcoming mid-terms and then in 2028, and what's being said online about him (Trump's the kind of guy who absolutely obsessively scrolls his feeds to see what's being said about him on social media), removing the "Normalize relations with Israel" stipulation could possibly be just a "See!!!, Netanyahu's not the boss of me" virtue signal to win back some people he's recently lost.

I happened notice over the past few weeks, JD Vance has also adopted a more "Israel-neutral" tone to some of his rhetoric as well in some recent interviews.

There's been a handful of times where Trump has adopted a "tough talk, I don't take no crap, not even from Israel" tone, and it typically coincides with whenever there's a Joe Rogan or Tucker Carlson guest that talks about how he's bowing to Israel and clips of it go viral... but it's usually short lived, and in a week, he's back to doing what Netanyahu wants.

So we'll see how this shakes out.

I tend to think in a very broad sense the Saudis are internally rigid but pragmatic and willing to live & let live otherwise. I believe the Iranian people have a collectively similar disposition ( & actually more liberal & tolerant )but are subjected to a leadership that is fanatical.

mindlight · Saturday at 2:49 AM

Lukaris said:
Well a new major development has happened in the ever volatile Middle East. Stability of Saudi Arabia has probably always been a pragmatic necessity in general. Now it seems that worldwide stability is almost dependent on this and at greater risk if Saudi Arabia would suffer instability.

From the National Review article:

The Saudis rejected the “gold standard,” as it’s described in nonproliferation parlance: a legally binding commitment to neither enrich uranium domestically nor reprocess spent nuclear fuel rods. Beyond that, the Saudis also rejected the “Additional Protocol” in which the International Atomic Energy Agency would have a role in monitoring and inspecting the Kingdom’s nuclear facilities.

What Do We Get Out of the Saudi Nuclear Deal? | National Review

The geostrategic benefits remain as murky as the terms of the agreement itself.

www.nationalreview.com

It remains to be seen if this is just a negotiation tactic to get a peace deal with Iran. The Sunni Saudis and Shia Iranians are enemies on an even deeper level than the Muslims generally hate Israel. Since Iran seem dedicated to keeping the conflict open ended, until at very least the mid terms are over, unless it produces an immediate reaction it probably will not.

Recognizing the state of Israel should be a precondition, because there will also be a future balance of Saudi and Israeli power in the region to consider.

The long term effect is a balancing of the Shia/Sunni conflict on the same MAD basis that India and Pakistan operate and indeed NATO vis a vis China/Russia/N.Korea. It makes some sense until you consider the fact that the Saudis are not the only Sunni power in the playground. What about Turkey and Egypt for example? Will the rest of the Sunni world simply accept the Saudis as their nuclear representative and counterweight against Iranian aggression?

Trump is also effectively endorsing the Wahabi dynasty of the Saud Royal Family and so a certain form of governance that may or may not be stable in the long term.

Is giving the Saudis the bomb a vote winner for the Mid terms?

mindlight · Saturday at 3:00 AM

Lukaris said:
The Saudis rejected the “gold standard,” as it’s described in nonproliferation parlance: a legally binding commitment to neither enrich uranium domestically nor reprocess spent nuclear fuel rods. Beyond that, the Saudis also rejected the “Additional Protocol” in which the International Atomic Energy Agency would have a role in monitoring and inspecting the Kingdom’s nuclear facilities.

This and the requirement to recognise Israel makes the implication clear. Trump is giving the Saudis the capability to build a bomb. IN the context this is about Iran. If Iran won't come back to the table and make genuine concessions Trump will reinforce its worst enemies. It also implies that American intelligence calculate a high probability that Iran will eventually acquire a nuclear capability.

Nithavela · Saturday at 6:40 AM

mindlight said:
This and the requirement to recognise Israel makes the implication clear. Trump is giving the Saudis the capability to build a bomb. IN the context this is about Iran. If Iran won't come back to the table and make genuine concessions Trump will reinforce its worst enemies. It also implies that American intelligence calculate a high probability that Iran will eventually acquire a nuclear capability.

Saudis and Iran having the nuclear bomb sounds much less dangerous than just Iran having a nuclear bomb.

In fact, the more nukes, the less dangerous it is. Let's give everyone nukes.

Lily76_ · Saturday at 3:07 PM

wow how stupid can you get to hand over nukes to the Saudis Osma bin ladens family ? oh wait its trump who gave nukes to them

mindlight · Sunday at 1:15 AM

Nithavela said:
Saudis and Iran having the nuclear bomb sounds much less dangerous than just Iran having a nuclear bomb.

In fact, the more nukes, the less dangerous it is. Let's give everyone nukes.

Proliferation makes nuclear war more likely, not less likely. The less people that have these things the better.

Pommer · Sunday at 1:26 AM

mindlight said:
Proliferation makes nuclear war more likely, not less likely. The less people that have these things the better.

Except if there’s a Second Amendment, then more weapons is good.

mindlight · Sunday at 1:33 AM

Pommer said:
Except if there’s a Second Amendment, then more weapons is good.

So maybe Americans should upgrade from guns to nukes to defend their constitutional liberties? That might scale up school massacres and nightclub bombings a little. Even the NRA agrees that not everyone should have a gun let alone a nuke.

Nuclear deal with USA and Saudi Arabia

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