The Global Story - The US-Saudi Arabia nuclear deal: could it all go wrong?
Download The US-Saudi Arabia nuclear deal: could it all go wrong?
When the Trump administration announced last week that it had signed a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, the agreement was held up by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright as evidence that ”the American nuclear renaissance is underway”. Although the text of the deal has not yet been made public, US media report that it could allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium in the future.
But shortly after the announcement, President Trump took to Truth Social to qualify the news – saying that the deal hinges on Saudi Arabia’s willingness to recognise the state of Israel.
Is that likely? And could the deal derail ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran? We speak to BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner.
Producers: Valerio Esposito and Xandra Ellin
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Studio manager: Mike Regaard
Digital producer: Matt Pintus
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House in Washington. Credit: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Published on Tuesday, 28th July 2026.
Available Podcasts from The Global Story
We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the The Global Story webpage.