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The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump formally approved the 30-year agreement late last week. The publication cited administration officials as saying the deal is designed to be worth tens of billions of dollars while giving US companies a central role in Saudi nuclear infrastructure and potentially allowing uranium enrichment following a joint feasibility study. It was signed by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman after a preliminary agreement was reached in Riyadh the year before.
Reuters reported separately that the Trump administration is preparing to submit the proposed 123 Agreement to Congress within days for required review. The designation stems from Section 123 of the United States Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which sets the legal basis for civil nuclear cooperation with foreign partners. The pact would permit enrichment only if a joint US-Saudi feasibility study supports it under agreed parameters.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in April that the United States would soon announce details of a landmark nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. He noted that the Kingdom has significant uranium resources and a clear strategy to expand its peaceful nuclear energy capabilities as part of its long-term energy diversification plans. The comments were made as the two countries moved closer to finalizing the bilateral pact.
World Nuclear Association data places Saudi Arabia’s targeted nuclear capacity at roughly 17 gigawatts from as many as 16 reactors by 2040. The figures reflect the scale of the kingdom’s plans to integrate nuclear power into its national energy strategy. Saudi officials have consistently described the program as entirely peaceful in nature.
Negotiations toward a comparable pact had been active during Trump’s first term as president, according to a November 2025 assessment by the Breakthrough Institute. That earlier process produced some understandings but did not yield a completed agreement before the term concluded. The fresh approval by Trump indicates renewed momentum in US-Saudi nuclear diplomacy.
