Under Trump, Saudi civil nuclear talks delinked from Israel recognition, sources say | 8 May 2025 | 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 U.S. 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 U.S.-Saudi deal tied to normalisation and to Riyadh's goal of a defence treaty with Washington. In a possible sign of a new approach, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that Saudi Arabia and the United States were on a "pathway" to a civil nuclear agreement when he visited the kingdom in April.