Karoline Leavitt Freezes On Stage With Trump News

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday declined to provide new details about the administration’s civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia after President Trump said the deal would only move forward if the kingdom normalizes relations with Israel.

Speaking to reporters during the daily White House briefing, Leavitt said Trump has consistently maintained that Saudi participation in the Abraham Accords is a requirement for the agreement.

“The president is always the final dealmaker,” Leavitt said. “He has said if they don’t join the Abraham Accords, the deal is off.”

She added that discussions with Saudi officials will continue as negotiations move forward.

The agreement, described as a multibillion-dollar, long-term partnership, was signed Wednesday by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart. However, the announcement made no mention of Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords. That condition was first revealed in a Truth Social post by Trump on Thursday.

Leavitt declined to discuss the specific terms of the agreement, saying negotiations are still ongoing despite Wednesday’s signing ceremony.

“This agreement is still being worked out,” she said. “It will eventually, hopefully, be finalized with the condition that the president spoke about this morning.”

Earlier Thursday, Trump said the proposed nuclear agreement would prohibit Saudi Arabia from enriching nuclear material and would be contingent on the kingdom joining the Abraham Accords, the series of normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab nations brokered during his first administration.

Leavitt said Saudi participation in the Abraham Accords has been discussed repeatedly with Saudi leaders but added that, to her knowledge, Trump had not spoken with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since announcing the new condition.

The requirement could complicate the agreement because Saudi Arabia has repeatedly stated that any normalization of relations with Israel depends on a credible path toward the creation of a Palestinian state, a position that Israel has rejected.

When asked whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested that the normalization requirement be included in the agreement, Leavitt replied, “Not to my knowledge.”

The administration has not yet released the full framework of the proposed agreement. Once finalized, it is expected to be submitted to Congress for review.