Saudi Arabia has reaffirmed that it will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel until an independent Palestinian state is created along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The statement came amid reports that US President Donald Trump seeks to link a civilian nuclear agreement with Riyadh to Saudi normalization of relations with Israel.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump sent the proposed US-Saudi civilian nuclear cooperation agreement to Congress for review and stipulated that it would not take effect unless Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords. Citing a US administration official, the report said the president’s position had not changed and that the agreement would not proceed without Saudi participation in the accords.

A Saudi official, speaking to Israel’s Channel 12, rejected reports connecting the nuclear agreement to normalization with Israel. The official said Riyadh’s position remained clear, firm and unchanged, and described the civilian nuclear program as part of Saudi Arabia’s broader strategic partnership with Washington rather than a matter that should be conditioned on diplomatic ties with Israel.