The United States is set to announce an agreement with Saudi Arabia this Wednesday granting the kingdom a civilian nuclear program, according to media reports, as fighting resumes between the Gulf oil giant and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Citing two unnamed US officials, the New York Times reported on Tuesday that the Trump administration plans to formally sign and unveil the deal with Riyadh on Wednesday.
The administration says the agreement will generate billions of dollars for the US nuclear industry.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a provision in the 30-year deal would allow American companies to build a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia, contingent on the outcome of a joint study.
However, lawmakers from both parties in the US, along with Israeli officials, have pushed back against the civilian nuclear project, citing concerns that it could eventually be converted for weapons development.
The deal is expected to be submitted to Congress in the coming days, though congressional approval is not required for it to proceed.
Amid renewed hostilities between the US and Iran, Tehran’s Yemeni allies, the Houthi rebels, threatened this week to widen the conflict by blockading Saudi ports.
Saudi Arabia and the Houthis exchanged fire last week for the first time in years, straining a 2022 truce. The rebels had largely stayed out of the fighting since Israel and the United States struck Iran in late February.
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