FILE PHOTO: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth waits for Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 24, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
RIYADH (Reuters): The United States is no longer demanding Saudi Arabia normalise ties with Israel as a condition for progress on civil nuclear cooperation talks, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit next week.
Dropping the demand that Saudi Arabia establish diplomatic relations with Israel would be a major concession by Washington. Under former President Joe Biden, nuclear talks were an element of a wider US-Saudi deal tied to normalisation and to Riyadh's goal of a defence treaty with Washington. The kingdom has repeatedly said it would not recognise Israel without a Palestinian state, frustrating Biden administration attempts to expand the Abraham Accords signed during Trump's first term. Under those accords the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco normalised relations with Israel.
