Trump Signs a Nuclear Deal with Saudi, Demands Huge Changes One Day Later

Oops. Trump made a stupid deal. So now he won’t honor it.

The Art of Stupid Deals

Yesterday, I commented Trump Deal Allows Saudis to Enrich Uranium, No International Inspections

Trump asked for nothing in return. Today, Trump demands that Saudi Arabia recognize Israel.

Truth Social: 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Jul 23, 2026, 5:52 AM

The Art of the Oops

Please consider Trump Forgot to Ask the Saudis for Anything in Return. Today He’s Trying to Fix It.

Donald Trump has spent forty years cultivating a single image above all others: the master negotiator.

Which makes what happened with Saudi Arabia this week genuinely hilarious.

On Wednesday, he proudly announced a landmark civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. The Department of Energy celebrated billions of dollars in commercial opportunities, strategic cooperation and a historic new partnership.

There was just one curious omission. There was no mention of something that had been central to these negotiations going back almost a decade.

No Abraham Accords. No Saudi recognition of Israel. No indication that Riyadh had agreed to provide the diplomatic concession Washington had spent years trying to obtain.

Instead, Trump appeared simply to hand Saudi Arabia the very thing it wanted most asking for and getting nothing in return.

Less than twenty-four hours later, Trump suddenly declared that the nuclear agreement was “totally subject” to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords after all. The White House then reinforced the point: no normalization, no deal.

Morning After Negotiation

Governments spend months—and often years—hammering out exactly what each side is giving, what each side is receiving and which commitments will appear in the final text. Only then do presidents step in to announce the result.

Trump appears to have reversed that process. First came the announcement. Then came the negotiation—or at least an attempt to renegotiate one of the agreement’s central political terms after it had already been unveiled.

That’s not how contracts work. It’s certainly not how international diplomacy works.

The Cult of the Dealmaker

One of the strangest features of modern American politics is how rarely Trump’s reputation as a dealmaker is tested against his actual negotiations.

The mythology remains remarkably durable. He is forever described as the businessman who understands leverage better than career politicians, the outsider who knows how to negotiate because he spent decades making deals.

But reputations are supposed to survive contact with evidence. This week provided evidence.

Trump announced an agreement that appeared to omit the principal concession the United States had sought for years. Then, after the omission became obvious, he attempted to bolt the missing condition back onto the agreement.

Whether that ultimately succeeds almost misses the point.

The revealing moment wasn’t Thursday.

It was Wednesday—the moment Trump seemed perfectly happy to announce the agreement exactly as it stood. Only afterward did someone apparently explain that America had forgotten to collect payment.

If that sounds like the setup to a Jon Stewart monologue, it’s because it is.

The difference is that this one isn’t satire. It’s American foreign policy under Trump.

Par for the Course

Trump personally negotiated the USMCA agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada. He called it the greatest deal ever made.

Now he claims Canada is ripping us off.

Trump has modified nearly every Tariff deal he has made. But none of them were signed.

The biggest deal reversal in history is the MOU with Iran. That was just a Memorandum of Understanding, but Trump’s understanding of the memorandum was more than a bit lacking.

Trump read into the MOU exactly what he wanted to believe, knowing full well (at least he should have known full well) that Iran’s interpretation was vastly different.

The Art of Breaking Deals

The MOU was the best deal that Trump could have expected.

He could have bragged about it. Strike that. Trump did brag about that despite the fact it was a lousy deal compared to what Obama negotiated.

Then Trump changed his mind. He wants more from Saudi just like he wants more from Canada, more from the EU, and more from Iran.

It’s stupid to sign a deal with Trump because he always wants more. In this case, a deal he bragged about could not even last 24 hours.

What If Iran Just Honored Obama’s Nuclear Deal?

On March 25, 2026, I asked What If Iran Just Honored Obama’s Nuclear Deal? Would We Be at War?

That’s where we need to start. The answer is yes.

This was a war of choice, by warmongers pledging to end wars.

We have Congressional Testimony proof.

Trump’s First Term Flashback

1. Trump’s US State Department: Iran honoring the terms.
2. Trump’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Iran honoring the terms.
3. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): Iran honoring the terms.
4. Arms Control Association: Iran honoring the terms.
5. All US European allies: Iran honoring the terms.
6. Every other signee of the accord: Iran honoring the terms.
7. Trump’s top general Gen. Joseph Dunford: Iran honoring the terms.
8. Trump’s Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis: Iran was complying with the terms of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal

Key Details on Mattis’ Statement and Context:

• Testimony (October 2017): Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mattis said, “I believe that [Iran] fundamentally [are] in compliance with its nuclear deal”.
• Contradicting Trump: Mattis, a career hawk, advised that staying in the deal was in the U.S. national security interest, putting him at odds with President Trump’s public criticism of the agreement as an “embarrassment”.

Iran only began stepping back from JCPOA limits (e.g., higher uranium enrichment levels, reduced IAEA access) after Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and reimposed sanctions—not before.

This sequence is well-documented in IAEA reports and international statements that include Trump’s top general and Secretary of Defense.

And it’s verified under oath in testimony to Congress.

Obama’s Nuclear Accord Agreement

• Iran will give up about 14,000 of its 20,000 centrifuges
• Iran will give up all but its most rudimentary, outdated centrifuges: its first-generation IR-1s, knockoffs of 1970s European models, are all it gets to keep. It will not be allowed to build or develop newer models.
• Iran will give up 97 percent of its enriched uranium; it will hold on to only 300 kilograms of its 10,000-kilogram stockpile in its current form.
• Iran will destroy or export the core of its plutonium plant at Arak, and replace it with a new core that cannot produce weapons-grade plutonium. It will ship out all spent nuclear fuel.
• Inspectors will have access to all parts of Iran’s nuclear supply chain, including its uranium mines and the mills where it processes uranium ore. Inspectors will also not just monitor but be required to pre-approve all sales to Iran of nuclear-related equipment. This provision also applies to something called ‘dual-use’ materials, which means any equipment that could be used toward a nuclear program.

That’s the agreement U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, General Joseph F. Dunford, and the International Atomic Energy Agency all said Iran was honoring.

Trump took Obama’s deal and tore it up.

Cheese Was a “Key Achievement” of Trump’s USMCA Trade Agreement

Please recall my March 9, 2025 post Cheese Was a “Key Achievement” of Trump’s USMCA Trade Agreement

Trump is complaining about Canada’s cheese tariffs. In 2018, he was bragging about cheese.

Trump Statements on USMCA

• August 21, 2023: The highly anticipated Des Moines Register Poll of Iowa Voters is just out: “DONALD TRUMP HOLDS COMMANDING LEAD In First Test of 2024 Republican Caucus Field.” Remember, I got the Farmers 28 Billion Dollars from China, the USMCA Trade Deal (& many others!), saved Ethanol, Social Security, and MediCare, & got Iowa “First In the Nation” status. Nobody else could have done this. Anyway, I’m at 51%, a 31 Point lead over “farmer hating” DeSanctimonious, with the others gaining on him, but not on me!
• February 15, 2020: RT @WhiteHouse: President @realDonaldTrump’s USMCA will have a tremendous effect on GDP!
• January 30, 2020: BIGGEST TRADE DEAL EVER MADE, the USMCA, was signed yesterday and the Fake News Media barely mentioned it. They never thought it could be done. They have zero credibility!
• January 29, 2020: USMCA is a cutting edge state of the art agreement that protects, defends and serves the great people of our Country. Promises Made, Promises Kept!
• January 29, 2020: USMCA is a massive win for American manufacturers and auto workers!
• January 16, 2020: One of the greatest trade deals ever made! Also good for China and our long term relationship. 250 Billion Dollars will be coming back to our Country, and we are now in a great position for a Phase Two start. There has never been anything like this in U.S. history!
• December 10, 2019: America’s great USMCA Trade Bill is looking good. It will be the best and most important trade deal ever made by the USA. Good for everybody – Farmers, Manufacturers, Energy, Unions – tremendous support. Importantly, we will finally end our Country’s worst Trade Deal, NAFTA!
• December 19, 2018: Mexico is paying (indirectly) for the Wall through the new USMCA, the replacement for NAFTA! Far more money coming to the U.S. Because of the tremendous dangers at the Border, including large scale criminal and drug inflow, the United States Military will build the Wall!
• December 13, 2018: I often stated, “One way or the other, Mexico is going to pay for the Wall.” This has never changed. Our new deal with Mexico (and Canada), the USMCA, is so much better than the old, very costly &, anti-USA NAFTA deal, that just by the money we save, MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL!
• November 30, 2018: Just signed one of the most important, and largest, Trade Deals in U.S. and World History. The United States, Mexico and Canada worked so well together in crafting this great document. The terrible NAFTA will soon be gone. The USMCA will be fantastic for all!
• October 3, 2018: Mexico, Canada and the United States are a great partnership and will be a very formidable trading force. We will now, because of the USMCA, work very well together. Great Spirit!
• October 2, 2018: “USMCA Wins Praise as a Victory for American Industries and Workers”
• October 2, 2018: Great reviews on the new USMCA. Thank you! Mexico and Canada will be wonderful partners in Trade (and more) long into the future.

Q&A on the Greatness of USMCA

Q: Is 250 percent on cheese fair?
A: It’s not 250 percent. It’s tiered, and embedded into USMCA.

Q: Who signed USMCA?
A: Trump

Q: Who is responsible for this arrangement?
A: Trump

Q: Didn’t Trump brag that USMCA was the best trade deal in history?
A: Yes

Q: Is Trump a good deal maker?
A: Apparently not, by his own admission

Q: Will Trump honor the USMCA deal ratified 89-10 by the Senate and signed by himself?
A: No

Q: Will Trump honor any deal he signs?
A: You tell me, but no one can expect that

Q: Is there a massive lost in trust that Trump will honor any deals he signs
A: Yes

Does anyone have any questions regarding the greatness, importance, and historic nature of USMCA to farmers and manufacturers?

It was such a great deal that Trump thanked Mexico and Canada. Notably, USMCA is “Good for everybody – Farmers, Manufacturers, Energy, Unions – tremendous support. Importantly, we will finally end our Country’s worst Trade Deal, NAFTA!”

It “greatly opened markets to our farmers,” and it even paid for the wall! And it will bring three great nations together!

Anyone who thinks Trump can negotiate a good deal and honor it has Jello where a brain should be.

Article posted with permission from Mish Sheldlock