A report published in the Wall Street Journal on Sunday said the long-discussed security deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia is almost finalized. The report cited both US and Saudi sources familiar with the negotiations.

Supposedly called the Strategic Alliance Agreement, the landmark treaty committed Washington to the Kingdom if attacked.  The Biden Administration has aggressively pursued a deal with Riyadh over the last several months, seeing the proposed multilayered agreement as the foundation for eventual Israeli-Saudi diplomatic normalization, progress on Palestinian statehood, and an end to the war in Gaza.

The WSJ explained that the treaty would also establish a civil nuclear sharing program in Saudi Arabia and grant Washington use of Saudi territory and airspace to protect its regional interests. One US official told the WSJ that the deal also intends to limit the growing Chinese influence in the Kingdom by preventing them from building military bases.  The US Senate would then vote on the treaty, needing a two-thirds majority to ratify it.

Given the upcoming US presidential election, political polarization, and legislative gridlock in Washington, getting the treaty past that threshold would likely be difficult, especially without Israeli-Saudi normalization directly attached to the initial framework.