The United States and Saudi Arabia have reached a civilian nuclear cooperation deal, the administration of US President Donald Trump announced, as Washington and Riyadh push to deepen ties.

The US Department of Energy hailed the agreement as “historic” on Wednesday, saying that US companies will provide nuclear technology to the kingdom.

The deal consists of an accord under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, known as a 123 agreement, “alongside an accompanying bilateral safeguards agreement”, the department said.

“These agreements reflect our two nations’ shared commitment to strengthening US-Saudi commercial relations, delivering prosperity at home and security to our allies abroad,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement.

“Rest assured, these agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and nonproliferation, while relying on the world’s best nuclear technology and scientists, designed right here in the United States.”

Some US media reports have suggested that the deal will allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium domestically rather than import nuclear fuel from the US.

The Energy Department’s statement did not provide details on enrichment. If the reports are confirmed, the deal is likely to face opposition in Washington.

The statement called the agreement a “decades-long, multi-billion-dollar partnership” and said it will now be submitted to Congress for review.

Trump, together with Israel, launched a war on Iran in February to prevent the country from enriching uranium and acquiring a nuclear weapon, which Tehran denies seeking.

[Aljazeera]

The United States military says that two service members have been killed and four medically evacuated following an Iranian missile and drone attack in Jordan.

In a statement shared on Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, said that one service member remains missing following an Iranian strike on Friday.

“On July 17, two US service members in Jordan were killed in action as US Central Command (CENTCOM) and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Additionally, one service member is currently missing in action,” the statement reads.

“Four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals. They have since been discharged. Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty.

“Out of respect for the families, CENTCOM will withhold additional information, including the identities of the fallen warriors, until 24 hours after the next of kin have been notified.”

The statement appears to be the first US confirmation of fatalities resulting from renewed Iranian strikes on US forces, following the breakdown of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that temporarily paused fighting between the US and Israel, and Iran.

Responding to the deaths of the two service members, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that “their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve”.

CENTCOM later announced that it was launching retaliatory airstrikes against Iran at President Trump’s direction.

[Aljazeera]

A seventh consecutive night of attacks by United States forces on targets across Iran has left 10,000 people without water after a desalination plant was hit, with Iran retaliating by launching another wave of drones and missiles at US-allied Gulf states.

Hamzeh Pour, chief executive of the Hormozgan Water and Wastewater Company, was quoted by the Tasnim news agency on Saturday as saying that a seawater pumping station and a power transformer at the Bunji desalination plant in Jask in southern Iran were “completely destroyed”, depriving 20 villages of water.

Iran’s retaliation also targeted civilian infrastructure, a war crime under international humanitarian law.

In the early hours of Saturday, Kuwait announced the closure of its airspace and said two power and water desalination plants were hit by Iranian attacks. Several Kuwaiti firefighters were wounded while responding to a fire sparked by the strikes, the country’s firefighting force said.

Air raid sirens also sounded repeatedly in Bahrain, where authorities urged residents to seek shelter.

In Jordan, authorities said they intercepted 10 Iranian ballistic missiles.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its naval forces had targeted a US military fuel pier at Kuwait’s al-Ahmadi port and a US warplane assembly site at Bahrain’s Sheikh Isa Air Base. The IRGC also said it attacked a US base in Azraq in Jordan, claiming to have destroyed two American fighter jets.

The Iranian attacks came after the US military’s Central Command, or CENTCOM, announced it had carried another wave of overnight strikes targeting “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities” in Iran.

[Aljazeera]