Waltz: US not ‘exporting enrichment capability to the Saudis’ under nuclear deal

Administration Waltz: US not ‘exporting enrichment capability to the Saudis’ under nuclear deal Comments: by Ryan Mancini - 07/27/26 2:18 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Ryan Mancini - 07/27/26 2:18 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Sunday the U.S. will not be “exporting enrichment capacity to” Saudi Arabia under the new nuclear deal announced last week.

Waltz appeared on the Sunday morning shows to clarify aspects of the deal, which would eventually allow the Saudis to enrich uranium, raising fears the Persian Gulf power could build a nuclear bomb. The deal allows for American nuclear companies to export to the Saudis, though the Department of Energy has released few details about the deal.

“We are not exporting enrichment capability to the Saudis,” Waltz said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream. “These are civilian nuclear power plants, as the Saudis look to diversify. But the difference is, they’ve signed up for full inspections. There is no enrichment, and the president’s made it clear this needs to be part of the broader Abraham Accords.”

President Trump said, less than 24 hours after the deal was announced, that Saudi Arabia must normalize its relations with Israel, making it a condition of the nuclear deal. The Saudis have long said that normalization with Israel is conditioned on the pathway toward an independent Palestinian state, which Israel has long dismissed.

Waltz compared the deal with Iran’s enrichment program, which has been a focal point in the Trump administration’s conflict against the Islamic regime.

“Compare that with what’s going on in Iran where they’re burying capability hundreds of miles under granite, the largest state sponsor of terrorism, kicking out the inspectors and not allowing the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] to come in, which the UAE, United Arab Emirates, the Saudis have agreed to,” Waltz said. “This is about civilian nuclear power, very different from Iran’s obsession with a nuclear weapon.”

Waltz also told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the U.S. has not sold any of its nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia “in terms of small modular reactors, micro reactors, large reactors, in many, many decades.”

“There is no enrichment envisioned in this plan,” he added.

The deal is a departure from what the U.S. set out in its 2009 nuclear accord with the UAE, where the Emirates agreed to not enrich uranium and allow for inspections by the IAEA.

The deal with the Saudis is set to open up new U.S. jobs and “reinforce global nonproliferation standards,” according to the Energy Department. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the deal reflects the shared commitment to “strengthening U.S.-Saudi commercial relations.”

“Rest assured, these agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and nonproliferation, while relying on the world’s best nuclear technology and scientists, designed right here in the United States,” he said in a statement.

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