Trump to welcome Saudi crown prince to White House with offer of fighter jets
US president Donald Trump will roll out the red carpet for Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, on Tuesday for a visit expected to advance the sale of F-35 fighter jets and a host of business deals with the kingdom.
It will be the first trip by bin Salman, widely known as MBS, to the US since the 2018 killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul, which triggered global outrage.
US intelligence concluded that MBS approved the capture or killing of Khashoggi. The crown prince denied ordering the operation but acknowledged responsibility as the kingdom’s de facto ruler.
During a day of White House diplomacy, MBS will hold talks with Trump in the Oval Office, have lunch in the Cabinet Room and attend a formal black-tie dinner in the evening.
Trump hopes to cash in on a $600bn Saudi investment pledge made during his visit to the kingdom in May. A senior White House official told Reuters that US-Saudi deals on technology, manufacturing, defence and more are expected.
Trump told reporters on Monday, “We’ll be selling” F-35s to Saudi, which has requested to buy 48 of the advanced aircraft.
Donald Trump and Mohammed Bin Salman shake hands at a welcoming ceremony in Riyadh on 13 May. Photograph: Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/ReutersShare
Updated at 10.22 EST
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Trump expects to build on a $600bn Saudi investment pledge made during his visit to the kingdom in May, which will include the announcement of dozens of targeted projects, a senior US administration official told Reuters.
The US and Saudi Arabia are expected to strike deals for defense sales, enhanced cooperation on civil nuclear energy and a multibillion-dollar investment in US artificial intelligence infrastructure, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Trump told reporters on Monday, “We’ll be selling” F-35s to Saudi, which has requested to buy 48 of the advanced aircraft.
As we noted earlier, this would be the first US sale of the fighter jets to Saudi Arabia and mark a significant policy shift. The deal could alter the military balance in the Middle East and test Washington’s definition of maintaining what the US has termed Israel’s “qualitative military edge.” Until now, Israel has been the only country in the Middle East to have the F-35.
Beyond military equipment, the Saudi leader is seeking new security guarantees. Most experts expect Trump to issue an executive order creating the kind of defense pact he recently gave to Qatar but still short of the congressionally ratified Nato-style treaty the Saudis initially sought.
Still, as Politico notes, “a major arms deal would signal a sea change in the US approach to Saudi Arabia: No longer would deeper ties between the two countries be so dependent on Saudi Arabia normalising relations with Israel.”
Related: Trump signs order promising measures, including military, to defend Qatar
Updated at 10.51 EST
Over the course of this day of White House diplomacy, MBS and Trump will hold talks in the Oval Office at 11.45am, have lunch in the Cabinet Room at 12.15pm and attend a formal black-tie dinner at 7.15pm, according to the US president’s schedule (timings are in ET).
Tomorrow the two leaders will jointly host an investment conference at the Kennedy Center. And invites have been sent out to US House leadership and committee leaders from both parties to meet with MBS tomorrow morning, Semafor reports.
Updated at 10.50 EST
Per our earlier post, Donald Trump is set to host a glitzy two-day visit for crown prince Mohammed bin Salman starting in about an hour, with the Saudi de facto ruler seeking to further rehabilitate his global image after the 2018 killing of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi and deepen ties with Washington.
Jamal Khashoggi at a press conference in Manama, Bahrain, on 15 December 2014. Photograph: Mohammed Al-Shaikh/AFP/Getty Images
Making his first White House visit in more than seven years, the crown prince will be greeted with a lavish display of pomp and ceremony presided over by Trump.
Talks between the two leaders are expected to advance security ties, civil nuclear cooperation and multibillion-dollar business deals with the kingdom. But Reuters notes there will likely be no major breakthrough on Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel.
The meeting underscores a key relationship – between the world’s biggest economy and the top oil exporter – that Trump has made a high priority in his second term as the international uproar around the killing of Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic, has gradually faded.
US intelligence concluded that bin Salman approved the capture or killing of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The crown prince denied ordering the operation but acknowledged responsibility as the kingdom’s de facto ruler.
The warm welcome for bin Salman in Washington is the latest sign that relations have recovered from the deep strain caused by Khashoggi’s murder.
Related: US finds Saudi crown prince approved Khashoggi murder but does not sanction him
Updated at 10.44 EST
UN security council votes to endorse Trump’s plan for international force in Gaza
Julian Borger
MBS’s visit to the US comes the day after the UN security council endorsed proposals put forward by Donald Trump for a lasting peace in Gaza, including the deployment of an international stabilisation force and a possible path to a sovereign Palestinian state.
The resolution, passed by a vote of 13-0 with abstentions by China and Russia, charted “a new course in the Middle East for Israelis and Palestinians and all the people of the region alike”, the US envoy to the UN, Mike Waltz, told the council chamber.
The inclusion of references to an independent Palestine was the price the US paid for backing from the Arab and Islamic world, who are expected to provide peacekeepers for an international stabilisation force (ISF).
Members of the UN Security Council raise their hands to vote in favour of a draft resolution to authorise an International Stabilization Force in Gaza, on 17 November. Photograph: Adam Gray/Getty Images
However, on the eve of the UN vote, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu restated his government’s adamant opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state, raising questions on whether Israel will allow the implementation of the UN-mandated proposals.
After the vote, Hamas rejected what it described as as an imposed “international guardianship mechanism” and insisted it would not disarm.
Supporters of the resolution said it should lead to the immediate lifting of remaining curbs on the flow of aid into Gaza, the creation of an international stabilisation force which would fill the vacuum left by Israeli military withdrawal, and moves towards reconstruction and a possible “pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood”.
Updated at 10.27 EST
Oliver Holmes
Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the White House on Tuesday is expected to result in the sale of highly advanced US F-35 fighter jets to the Gulf monarchy.
The sale of the jets is significant as it would mark the first delivery of the advanced fighter jets to a Middle Eastern state apart from Israel. For years, the US has exclusively supplied Israel with advanced weapons to give the country an advantage against its neighbours.
A previous deal with the United Arab Emirates was also suspended, with concerns the technology could leak to China.
But the politics of the Middle East has changed this century, with Gulf monarchies shifting their focus to Iran, which Riyadh considers its chief regional foe. Trump mentioned the Israeli-US bombardment of Iran this summer when talking about his friendship with Saudi Arabia.
Still, some pro-Israel US Republicans are wary about upsetting the so-called “qualitative military edge” of Israel over its neighbours.
Updated at 10.24 EST
Trump to welcome Saudi crown prince to White House with offer of fighter jets
US president Donald Trump will roll out the red carpet for Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, on Tuesday for a visit expected to advance the sale of F-35 fighter jets and a host of business deals with the kingdom.
It will be the first trip by bin Salman, widely known as MBS, to the US since the 2018 killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul, which triggered global outrage.
US intelligence concluded that MBS approved the capture or killing of Khashoggi. The crown prince denied ordering the operation but acknowledged responsibility as the kingdom’s de facto ruler.
During a day of White House diplomacy, MBS will hold talks with Trump in the Oval Office, have lunch in the Cabinet Room and attend a formal black-tie dinner in the evening.
Trump hopes to cash in on a $600bn Saudi investment pledge made during his visit to the kingdom in May. A senior White House official told Reuters that US-Saudi deals on technology, manufacturing, defence and more are expected.
Trump told reporters on Monday, “We’ll be selling” F-35s to Saudi, which has requested to buy 48 of the advanced aircraft.
Donald Trump and Mohammed Bin Salman shake hands at a welcoming ceremony in Riyadh on 13 May. Photograph: Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/ReutersShare
Updated at 10.22 EST