On: US to announce deal allowing Saudi Arabia a nuclear programme, reports say

22 July 2026.

“The agreement would fulfil a long-held Saudi ambition but could attract concern in Israel and from some US lawmakers.”

Observe the verb: attract. Concern is not felt, voiced, or necessitated by the prospect of atomic proliferation; it is merely “attracted,” as if it were a static charge or a magnetic filing. The grammar suggests a natural phenomenon rather than a political catastrophe. By making “concern” the subject that performs the “attracting,” the reporter ensures that the actual agents - the men signing the documents - disappear into the background of a physical law.

The report continues: “The deal would allow for the domestic enrichment of uranium under strict oversight protocols.”

In the first clause, we find the nominalization: enrichment. It is a noun that has swallowed a verb. One does not say “The United States will permit the Saudis to enrich uranium”; one says the deal “allows for the enrichment.” The act is severed from the actor. It becomes a state of being, a technical condition of the atmosphere.

Then comes the “oversight protocols.” Note the plural. The more syllables used to describe the watching, the less watching is actually done. A “protocol” is not a person looking at a centrifuge; it is a document that describes how one might look at a centrifuge if one were inclined to do so.

“The strategic partnership aims to stabilize regional energy markets while addressing security requirements.”

Here the sentence reaches its terminal state of abstraction. Partnership (a noun) aims (a verb) to stabilize (an infinitive). No human being is present. The partnership has its own eyes, its own intent, and its own “requirements.” When the mushroom cloud finally provides the ultimate stabilization of the market, the grammar will ensure that no one is left to blame but the protocols themselves.