The United States has agreed to allow Saudi Arabia to develop its own nuclear program and enrich uranium, according to a report by CNN published on July 19, 2026, citing draft documents and sources familiar with the negotiations. The draft agreement has been negotiated and is awaiting President Donald Trump’s signature, the outlet reported. Under the reported terms, the deal would not require Saudi Arabia to adopt the enhanced International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards known as the Additional Protocol, which provides inspectors with broader access to nuclear facilities to detect undeclared activities.
The agreement would grant Riyadh access to the same uranium-enrichment technology that has been at the center of Iran’s long-running dispute with Western powers, according to the report. The United States and Israel have long argued that Iran’s enrichment program could be used to produce nuclear weapons and cited those concerns when launching strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure earlier this year, according to official statements. Iran has consistently said its nuclear program is peaceful and that, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has an “inalienable right” to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, and it has provisionally applied the Additional Protocol, according to Iranian officials.
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