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Washington and Riyadh have signed an agreement on a civilian nuclear program; US firms are allowed to invest in Saudi nuclear power plants. The administration calls it historic but published few details. Critics warn the deal could pave the way to Saudi nuclear weapons.

The energy ministers of both countries, the American Wright and the Saudi Abdulaziz bin Salman, signed an agreement in Washington that allows US companies to enter a Saudi civilian nuclear power program. According to Haaretz (Israel), the US administration speaks of "historic" cooperation, and according to the Guardian of a deal that could even permit the kingdom to enrich uranium. German papers illuminate the risks in different ways: the conservative Welt runs the headline that the kingdom could become a nuclear power, the liberal Zeit calls it a "bomb in business clothing" and points to the contradiction that Trump wants to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities at the same time. Le Figaro (France) stresses that Israel views the agreement with great unease. State-aligned sources such as Daily Sabah (Turkey) mainly relay the official reading of a purely civilian use. What remains critical is that the administration published few details on safeguards, which complicates assessment. It is considered certain that the agreement has been signed and is likely to draw parliamentary scrutiny in the US.