Israel should focus on shaping, not judging, Trump's nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia – analysis

Initial reports of a potential US civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, without requiring normalization with Israel, sparked immediate political criticism in Israel. Opposition figures like Yair Golan and Yair Lapid accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of a "total failure," claiming he had lost both normalization with Saudi Arabia and allowed them to gain nuclear capabilities. Golan stated, "Netanyahu succeeded in doing the impossible: He both lost the normalization with Saudi Arabia and enabled it to gain nuclear capabilities."

Netanyahu succeeded in doing the impossible: He both lost the normalization with Saudi Arabia and enabled it to gain nuclear capabilities.

However, less than a day later, US President Donald Trump clarified on Truth Social that any such deal would require Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords and involve "no enrichment of material." This significantly altered the premise of the initial criticism, suggesting that key Israeli interests were still being considered. The article argues that Israeli diplomacy should focus on shaping the evolving agreement to protect its interests, rather than prematurely judging its outcome based on incomplete information.