Raw Story columnist Ray Richmond criticized President Donald Trump’s reported approval this week of a landmark 30-year agreement to help Saudi Arabia build the civilian nuclear program it has long sought, arguing that the arrangement raises major questions about oversight, nuclear nonproliferation and financial conflicts involving Trump’s family.

Richmond opened by noting that the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks is less than two months away. He recalled that 15 of the 19 hijackers aboard the four planes used in the attacks were citizens of Saudi Arabia. He also noted that this does not prove the kingdom played an active role in the attacks, and that the 9/11 Commission found no evidence that the Saudi government knowingly funded or directed them.

The columnist said the issue is relevant because Trump this week approved what he described as a major 30-year deal to provide Saudi Arabia with a civilian nuclear program. According to Richmond, the agreement gives U.S. companies a monopoly on developing nuclear infrastructure for the kingdom without requiring monitoring and inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure that nuclear fuel described as being for “peaceful” purposes is not enriched for a weapon.

That oversight question is central to Richmond’s criticism because civilian nuclear programs can involve technologies and materials that require strict safeguards to verify how nuclear fuel is produced and used. In his framing, the absence of required IAEA monitoring would leave the public dependent on political assurances rather than independent verification.

Richmond argued that the absence of oversight makes the deal dangerous. He wrote that Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth is central to the arrangement and said the deal would be worth billions of dollars in contracts for U.S. companies working in nuclear technology.

He also described the agreement as a major victory for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, commonly known as MBS. Richmond wrote that MBS has long vowed to build a nuclear weapon if Iran is allowed to do so. He contrasted that position with Trump’s frequently stated justification for his war: stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

In Richmond’s view, the Saudi agreement severely damages nuclear nonproliferation in the Middle East for the foreseeable future. He argued that the key to the deal is the relationship between Trump and MBS, and that Trump views the crown prince as a source of immense wealth despite the controversies surrounding him.

Richmond revisited the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist, dissident, author, columnist and editor Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage and never left. He was killed and dismembered, and suspicion fell on MBS for allegedly approving the operation because of Khashoggi’s criticism of the Saudi government. MBS denied involvement.

The columnist wrote that the killing did not seriously damage the U.S.-Saudi relationship under Trump. He said Trump did not appear to judge MBS harshly over the matter and had criticized journalists who made the crown prince uncomfortable during press briefings. Richmond cited Trump’s 2025 trip to Riyadh, where Trump stood beside MBS and said, “I like him a lot. I like him too much.”

Richmond argued that financial interests make it unlikely Trump would seriously challenge MBS over a nuclear agreement. He connected the issue to Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and his private equity firm, Affinity Partners.

In 2021, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, or PIF, committed $2 billion to Affinity Partners. Richmond noted that Kushner has emphasized the commitment was an investment in the fund rather than a personal payment to him. But Richmond wrote that Kushner owns Affinity and that the firm collects management fees. Senate investigators estimated in 2024 that Affinity had accrued roughly $87 million in fees from the Saudi government to that point.

Richmond also wrote that in March, Kushner, while purportedly working as a Middle East envoy, spoke with potential investors from PIF about raising an additional $5 billion for Affinity. He noted that PIF is led by MBS.

The columnist said these circumstances make the nuclear pact appear tied to nepotism and payoffs, and he described the conflicts of interest as numerous and obvious. He questioned whether Trump’s extended family would prioritize inspections or preventing Saudi Arabia from developing nuclear weapons when billions of dollars in family-related money were at stake and when Saudi Arabia has already stated its nuclear ambitions if Iran is permitted to build a weapon.

Richmond’s argument turns on the intersection of foreign policy and private financial benefit: a nuclear cooperation agreement can carry long-term security consequences, while the contracts and investment relationships he describes create questions about who benefits from the policy and how aggressively safeguards would be enforced.

Richmond argued that the case shows how graft and corruption can create risks beyond personal accountability. He wrote that the only barrier preventing Saudi Arabia from enriching its own nuclear fuel to create weapons would be the kingdom’s own assurances.

He also questioned the credibility of the Saudi energy ministry’s promises of “cooperation on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy,” comparing them unfavorably to Trump’s own statements.

Richmond concluded that, in his view, the Trump administration’s actions are driven by money. He wrote that Trump and his family have already enriched themselves by several billion dollars, calling that estimate conservative, and said he believes Trump’s profits could reach the tens of billions by the end of his presidency.

The column ended with Richmond arguing that Trump, at age 80, may not be concerned about future nuclear dangers because he may not live to face them. Richmond wrote that this possibility is what should most alarm the public.

Ray Richmond is a longtime journalist and author and an adjunct professor at Chapman University in Orange, California.