WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that a newly signed civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia would move forward only if the kingdom normalizes relations with Israel, adding a consequential condition that was absent from the initial U.S. and Saudi announcements.

Trump said the agreement was “totally subject” to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered framework that established formal relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority governments during his first term. He also said the nuclear program would be limited to civilian use and would not include uranium enrichment.

The White House subsequently confirmed that Trump views normalization as a requirement. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the administration would continue discussions with Saudi officials as it worked to finalize the deal. She did not say whether Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman or other Saudi leaders had agreed to the condition.

The announcement introduced uncertainty only one day after U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed what the Energy Department described as a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement and an accompanying bilateral safeguards agreement.

The Energy Department’s July 22 announcement called the arrangement the legal foundation for a decades-long, multibillion-dollar partnership. It said the pact would give American companies access to Saudi Arabia’s emerging nuclear sector, support U.S. jobs and supply chains, and strengthen Washington’s position in the global competition to export civilian nuclear technology.

Neither that announcement nor a Saudi government statement identified recognition of Israel as a condition. Saudi Arabia’s official account focused on energy diversification, advanced technology, investment and adherence to international standards for nuclear safety, security and nonproliferation.

The difference between Wednesday’s presentation and Trump’s statement Thursday immediately raised questions about whether the normalization requirement is already contained in the signed documents, will be added during further negotiations or represents a separate political condition for presidential and congressional approval. The administration has not released the full agreement publicly.

Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Washington declined to comment to The Associated Press on Trump’s statement. Riyadh has long said it is open to establishing relations with Israel, but Saudi leaders have insisted that Israel first accept a clear, credible and time-bound path toward an independent Palestinian state.

That position remains a formidable obstacle. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Palestinian statehood as a threat to Israel’s security. His office nevertheless welcomed the prospect of Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords, describing such a step as a historic opportunity for regional peace without addressing the nuclear agreement itself.

For Trump, Saudi participation in the accords would represent a major foreign-policy achievement. Saudi Arabia is the Arab world’s largest economy, the custodian of Islam’s two holiest sites and a central political and commercial power in the Middle East. Formal Saudi-Israeli relations could reshape regional trade, security coordination, aviation and investment while encouraging other governments to deepen ties with Israel.

The nuclear agreement gives Washington a potentially powerful source of leverage. Saudi Arabia wants to develop nuclear power as it seeks to diversify its domestic energy mix and preserve more oil and natural gas for export or industrial use. Access to American technology could help Riyadh build that program while aligning it with U.S. companies, regulatory practices and supply chains.

Under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act, the United States generally must have a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement in force before significant transfers of American nuclear materials, reactors or major components can occur. Such agreements establish legal terms governing technology transfers, safeguards and nonproliferation commitments.

The Energy Department said the Saudi agreement will be transmitted to Congress for review. Lawmakers are expected to examine both its commercial benefits and its security provisions, including restrictions on enrichment, inspection rights and the consequences of any Saudi violation.

The enrichment issue is particularly sensitive. Uranium enriched to low levels can be used as fuel in civilian power reactors, but the same technology can be used to produce material at higher concentrations. A country operating its own enrichment infrastructure therefore possesses capabilities that can shorten the technical path toward weapons-grade material, even though enrichment alone is not sufficient to build a nuclear weapon.

Trump said there would be no enrichment under the deal. However, reporting by the AP and other outlets indicated that the arrangement could contemplate a joint U.S.-Saudi study of possible future enrichment in the kingdom. Without the agreement’s public text, it remains unclear whether such a study is authorized, prohibited or subject to additional negotiations and approvals.

There are also questions about international monitoring. The AP reported that the deal does not require Saudi Arabia to adopt the International Atomic Energy Agency’s additional protocol, which gives inspectors broader access and information than standard safeguards arrangements. The IAEA said it had been informed that Washington and Riyadh may request verification measures connected to their bilateral safeguards framework.

Nonproliferation specialists have often pointed to the U.S. agreement with the United Arab Emirates as a stronger model. The UAE accepted restrictions preventing domestic enrichment and reprocessing when it pursued its nuclear-power program. Those commitments are frequently described as the “gold standard” for U.S. nuclear cooperation.

The Trump administration argues that an American partnership offers more effective safeguards than leaving Saudi Arabia to work with another supplier. China, Russia, France and South Korea are among the countries with companies capable of competing for parts of the Saudi program. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that Washington wants the kingdom to select American businesses rather than international competitors.

The commercial stakes could be substantial for U.S. reactor developers, fuel suppliers, engineering companies and technology firms. A long-term Saudi program could involve reactor construction, workforce training, safety systems, digital infrastructure and decades of maintenance and technical support. Silicon Valley companies could also pursue work involving cybersecurity, industrial software, artificial intelligence and advanced energy management.

Previous U.S. efforts to negotiate a Saudi-Israeli normalization package combined nuclear cooperation with security guarantees and broader regional diplomacy. Those negotiations became more difficult after the Gaza war intensified opposition to normalization across the Arab world. Continued conflict involving Israel, Iran and U.S. forces has added further political and security complications.

Trump’s intervention now ties two of Washington’s most ambitious Middle East objectives together: expanding U.S. nuclear exports and securing Saudi recognition of Israel. The linkage could restore leverage that critics said Washington surrendered by signing the nuclear agreement separately. It could also prevent either initiative from advancing if Saudi and Israeli positions on Palestinian statehood remain irreconcilable.

The next steps will depend on the release of the agreement’s text, the administration’s formal submission to Congress and Saudi Arabia’s response to Trump’s demand. Until those details emerge, the status of the pact remains uncertain despite the ceremonial signing and the administration’s claims of a historic U.S.-Saudi energy partnership.