Opinion: Why tying a Saudi nuclear deal to Israel is a strategic mistake

The future of US-Saudi Arabia relations may hinge less on grand declarations than on Washington's ability to distinguish between strategic interests and political aspirations. If the United States conditions a civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia on the kingdom's immediate accession to the Abraham Accords, it would be collapsing two fundamentally different policy objectives into a single diplomatic test. Such an approach may appear to increase American leverage. In practice, it is more likely to diminish US influence while accelerating the emergence of a more multipolar Middle East. The issue is not whether normalisation between Saudi Arabia and Israel would serve regional interests. There are persuasive arguments that it eventually could. Rather, the question is whether Washington can realistically expect Riyadh to abandon a position it has articulated with remarkable consistency for more than two decades: that formal normalisation must follow – not precede – a credible pathway towards Palestinian statehood. Read more: Why tying a Saudi nuclear deal to Israel is a strategic mistake Opinion by Dr Ahmed Altuwaijri US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington on 19 November 2025 (Brendan Smialowski/AFP)