Tel aviv: Israeli opposition leaders have criticised a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement signed between the US and Saudi Arabia, describing it as a major failure for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. The US Energy Department announced on Wednesday that Washington and Riyadh had signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement.
According to TRTworld.com, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed the agreement, commonly known as a 123 Agreement. The deal represents an important step in strengthening peaceful nuclear cooperation between Washington and Riyadh and will be submitted to the US Congress for review under established procedures before entering into force.
Following the announcement, Israeli opposition leaders accused Netanyahu's government on Thursday of failing to prevent the agreement. "This agreement is a massive diplomatic failure for our government," former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the opposition Together party, told Israel's public broadcaster KAN. He added that the agreement was reached without their knowledge, highlighting Israel's exclusion from negotiations between the United States and Iran.
Former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the opposition Yisrael Beiteinu party, also described the agreement as a major and catastrophic failure for Netanyahu, emphasizing the prime minister's previously touted familiarity with the US administration. Lieberman stated that the agreement pushes the entire Middle East into a nuclear arms race and criticized the allowance of uranium enrichment on Saudi territory without normalization between Riyadh and Israel.
"The agreement for the Saudi nuclear programme is a total failure of Netanyahu," Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on X. Israel is the only country in the Middle East believed to possess nuclear weapons, though it has not officially acknowledged this. Its nuclear facilities are not subject to oversight by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The agreement comes amid US media reports revealing additional details about the nuclear cooperation framework between Washington and Riyadh. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump had approved a 30-year civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia worth billions of dollars. The agreement positions US companies centrally in developing Saudi Arabia's civilian nuclear programme while excluding foreign competitors. It includes constructing nuclear reactors using technology from US company Westinghouse, like the AP1000 reactor, capable of generating around 1,100 megawatts of electricity.
The agreement also outlines a two-year joint US-Saudi study to assess the commercial feasibility of uranium enrichment inside the kingdom. Under the deal, Saudi Arabia would commit not to seek another partner for 10 years if the US objects.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration plans to submit the agreement to Congress in the coming days. Blocking it would require legislation supported by a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override a presidential veto. Once submitted to Congress, the agreement will enter a review period of around 90 continuous session days, during which lawmakers can raise objections. If no objections are made, it will enter into force.
