US-Saudi nuclear deal relies on it recognising Israel, says Trump – Middle East crisis live
Trump says Saudi nuclear agreement requires the kingdom to normalise ties with Israel
Donald Trump said the US-Saudi nuclear deal is subject to the kingdom joining the Abraham Accords, which normalises ties with Israel.
He added that the landmark deal does not allow the enrichment of uranium.
In a post on his Truth Social app, the US president said:
The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!) being made between the United States Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia, which pertains only to non-military use such as the ones that Iran and UAE (and others) already have, will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords. The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities.”
My colleague Jonathan Yerushalmy has put together this helpful explainer on what we know about the agreement and the concerns it raises:
Key events
US House passes war powers resolution directing Trump to withdraw US military from Iran
Chris Stein
The US House of Representatives on Thursday for the second time passed a war powers resolution directing Donald Trump to withdraw the US military from the conflict with Iran, amid renewed fighting in the Middle East that has driven oil prices to their highest levels in weeks.
The resolution proposed by Democrat Pramila Jayapal passed by a 214-208 vote, with four Republicans joining all Democrats in attendance to vote in favor.
Its passage comes after the House last month approved a similar resolution, which the Senate later approved in a significant bipartisan rebuke of the president’s decision to join Israel in attacking Iran in February.
The resolutions are nonetheless largely symbolic, as the Trump administration has argued such measures are unconstitutional. In debate ahead of the vote, the top Democrat on the House foreign affairs committee, Greg Meeks, accused the president of violating the law.
If anyone needs a refresher on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, here’s an explainer from the Guardian’s Jonathan Yerushalmy:
Report: Iran flew IRGC commanders and equipment to Yemen
As Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis enter the fray, purportedly attacking two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea today, Reuters is reporting that Iran flew Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, military advisers and missile- and drone-related equipment into Yemen this month – a move that suggests Tehran is seeking to strengthen its Houthi allies as US attacks on Iran continue.
Reuters cites four sources familiar with the matter, including two Iranian sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, Yemen’s information minister and a regional security analyst. They told the news service that Iran transferred IRGC personnel and military-related equipment on a flight from Tehran to the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on 13 July.
Between 10 and 21 IRGC personnel, including senior commanders, were on the Mahan Air flight, the two Iranian sources told Reuters. The plane was originally heading toward the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, but diverted to Hodeidah after the airport came under attack by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
“The IRGC commanders travelled there to support Houthi operations and provide training on new missile systems,” one of the sources said, adding that Iran also sent gold on the aircraft to fund Houthi activities.
Earlier today, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the “Houthis largely were smart and stayed out of all this throughout the conflict, but they now apparently have gotten themselves suckered into this, going after Saudi Arabia and their ships.”
“I hope they will de-escalate, because I think the Houthis, frankly, got snookered into this thing by the Iranians. And they were smart to stay out of it, and they should stay out of it and they should stop. We’ll see what happens there. Obviously, it’s not a positive development,” he said.
Donald Trump said earlier in a post on Truth Social that he will hold Iran responsible for attacks launched by the Houthi militia in Yemen:
“A year ago the United States of America attacked, very powerfully, the Houthis, for their interference with commerce and trade, by shooting at ships. Since that time, and during our conflict with Iran, they have acted very responsibly. Unfortunately, now they are starting up again, shooting at two Saudi Arabian ships last night. Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves, who I am very disappointed with in that they have, until now, acted very professionally and smart.”
In Gaza, a UN report has found humanitarian assistance and increased commercial traffic have improved food security and child nutrition in the Palestinian territory, but warns that the situation remains fragile.
The share of the population facing acute food insecurity has reduced from 77% at the end of 2025 to 67%, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a globally recognised organisation that classifies the severity of food insecurity and malnutrition.
However, the report warns that 1.4 million people still face crisis-level hunger or worse, with more than 200,000 in emergency conditions and about 74,000 children expected to require treatment for acute malnutrition over the coming year.
“There is progress on food security in Gaza, but it is fragile and can easily be reversed,” said Carl Skau, acting executive director at the UN World Food Programme (WFP).
“The overall humanitarian situation remains brutal: families lack water, sanitation and medicine. We need sustained access, funding and stability so people of Gaza can begin recovery.”
Netanyahu says Saudi Arabia joining Abraham Accords would be ‘historic leap forward for peace’
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords would be “historic”, according to a brief statement issued by his office.
As we reported earlier, Donald Trump said the nuclear deal signed between the US and Saudi Arabia is contingent on the kingdom joining the accords which would normalise diplomatic ties with Israel. Since being signed by the UAE and Bahrain in 2020, Sudan, Morocco and Kazakhstan have also joined.
The Israeli prime minister’s statement, shared on X, does not make specific mention of the US-Saudi nuclear deal.
“Saudi Arabia’s joining of the Abraham Accords would be an historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East,” it said.
Saudi Arabia has yet to comment on this development.
Oil prices hit $100 a barrel
Global oil prices have risen to more than $100 per barrel for the first time since May as violence escalates in the Middle East.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, increased by more than 6% after Iran’s Houthi allies attacked shipping in the Red Sea.
Donald Trump said he would exact “major military punishment” against the Yemen-based group as well as Iran, which he said bears responsibility for the Red Sea attack.
US accused of bombing Iran-Iraq border crossing used by religious pilgrims
Iran’s Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq was crowded with “hundreds of pilgrims” when it was reportedly targeted in a deadly US strike, according to an expert.
As we reported earlier, two people were killed and 11 were wounded in the attack in south-western Iran overnight, according to state TV in Iran.
The border is used by Iranian pilgrims going toward Najaf and Karbala in Iraq to commemorate the annual Arbaeen gatherings, which can involve more than 20 million pilgrims each year.
Gregory Brew, a senior analyst at the Eurasia Group, said on X that, based on reports and video, the crossing “was crowded with hundreds of people, many of them pilgrims undertaking the Arbaeen journey to Karbala” when it was attacked.
“Hard to see what, if any, relevance this has to degrading Iranian capabilities in the strait,” he added.
Trump says he will hold Iran responsible for Houthi attacks
Donald Trump said he will hold Iran responsible for attacks launched by the Houthi militia in Yemen.
He said the Houthis had acted “very professionally and smart” until they attacked Saudi Arabian ships in the Red Sea last night (see post at 03:04).
In a post on Truth Social, he said:
A year ago the United States of America attacked, very powerfully, the Houthis, for their interference with commerce and trade, by shooting at ships. Since that time, and during our conflict with Iran, they have acted very responsibly. Unfortunately, now they are starting up again, shooting at two Saudi Arabian ships last night. Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves, who I am very disappointed with in that they have, until now, acted very professionally and smart.
Trump says Saudi nuclear agreement requires the kingdom to normalise ties with Israel
Donald Trump said the US-Saudi nuclear deal is subject to the kingdom joining the Abraham Accords, which normalises ties with Israel.
He added that the landmark deal does not allow the enrichment of uranium.
In a post on his Truth Social app, the US president said:
The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!) being made between the United States Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia, which pertains only to non-military use such as the ones that Iran and UAE (and others) already have, will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords. The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities.”
My colleague Jonathan Yerushalmy has put together this helpful explainer on what we know about the agreement and the concerns it raises:
Palestinian ministry accuses Ben Gvir of “seeking to ignite a religious war” after he entered al-Aqsa compound
Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir led hundreds of Israelis, including settlers, into the al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem, a breach of a decades-old status quo.
The minister, joined by heavily police protection, posted a video on his Telegram channel in which he said: “Look at what’s happening here – Jews are praying and feel that they are the rightful owners here.”
“Everywhere, people understand that the state of Israel is the sovereign authority. There is still more to do, and with god’s help, we will continue to move forward.”
The compound is seen by Muslims as Islam’s third holiest site and access is restricted through a decades-old arrangement between Israel and Jordan, in which Jews are permitted to visit but prayers are limited to Muslim worshippers.
In a statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Religious Endowments and Affairs said: “These provocative practices, emanating from the highest political levels of the occupying government, seek to ignite a religious war throughout the entire region.”
Ben Gvir has entered the compound more than a dozen times since taking office, according to AFP.
Elsewhere, Egypt is still hopeful that the US and Iran could return to peace talks. The country’s foreign minister Bard Abdelbatty said Egypt is in daily to contact with regional partners as well as the US and Iran, in a bid to end the tit-for-tat attacks that have taken place in the last few weeks.
“There is a specific proposal now under discussions, and we hope that this proposal will contribute to de-escalation,” Abdelfatty said in an interview with Bloomberg.
