White House ties Saudi atom deal to Israel pact

Washington, July 25 (SocialNews.XYZ) The White House on Friday (local time) reaffirmed that President Donald Trump expects Saudi Arabia to normalise relations with Israel and join the Abraham Accords as part of a broader understanding surrounding a proposed civil nuclear agreement with the kingdom, underscoring that the administration sees the issue as central to its Middle East strategy.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House ahead of the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said Trump had consistently conveyed his expectations to Saudi leaders over several years.

"The president has been very clear with Saudi Arabia since, not just this term, but going back, his expectations, timelines, and commitments on their normalization of relations with Israel and their entering the Abraham Accords," Miller said.

His remarks came after questions over why the condition linking the Saudi nuclear deal with normalisation was highlighted separately from the announcement made by Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

Without directly addressing the sequencing, Miller said Trump possessed an unmatched understanding of the Saudi leadership and the kingdom's long-term strategic direction.

"The president, better than any American alive, understands the psychology of the kingdom, the players in the kingdom, and what that relationship looks like," he said.

Miller argued that Trump's engagement with Riyadh dated back to his landmark 2017 speech in the Saudi capital and credited the President with strengthening the kingdom's regional role.

"When you think about where Saudi Arabia is today, going back to the Riyadh speech in 2017 and leaning on them to be a bulwark against violent terrorism in the region, President Trump has helped work with Saudi Arabia to become the nation, the kingdom, one of the foremost pillars of stability in the area," he said.

He added that Trump fully understood "Saudi psychology" and the country's future plans.

"So we should just assume and trust that the president knows exactly what to do and how to do it to ultimately achieve what would be a watershed moment in a region that's been filled with watershed moments," Miller said.

During the same exchange with reporters, Miller also criticised Nicaragua after President Daniel Ortega's government moved to eliminate competitive elections.

"There's an axiom that is said over and over and over again with increasing frequency lately, which is that you can vote your way into socialism or communism, but you can't vote your way out of it. This is unfortunately an illustration of that point," he said.

He accused socialist and communist parties of using electoral processes to gain power before restricting political freedoms.

Miller said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had already outlined Washington's policy and argued that the administration's broader "Shield of the Americas" strategy reflected a wider geopolitical shift across Latin America.

"The Western Hemisphere is going through a dramatic realignment right now... a dramatic realignment towards America, towards the West, and towards President Trump," he said.

According to Miller, several countries in the region had elected governments aligned with what he described as Trump's "security and prosperity strategy."

On domestic politics, Miller declined to comment on legislative negotiations over the SAVE America Act, referring questions to the White House Office of Legislative Affairs.

However, he reiterated Trump's position on the legislation.

"He's been absolutely, unequivocally, unmistakably clear on his expectations for the passage of the Save America Act, one way or another," Miller said.

Asked about attending Friday night's White House Correspondents' Dinner, Miller confirmed he would be present and praised law enforcement agencies responsible for security.

"I'm very grateful to law enforcement. Very grateful to Secret Service... where we can have fun, we can tell some jokes... and have a good, fun night," he said.

The Saudi civil nuclear negotiations have emerged as one of the most closely watched elements of Trump's Middle East diplomacy. During his first term, the Abraham Accords led to the normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, reshaping regional diplomacy. Successive US administrations have viewed Saudi recognition of Israel as the most significant remaining expansion of the accords.

Source: IANS