US President Donald Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia for the first leg of a trip to the Middle East. He’ll also visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, though his most pressing regional challenges concern two other countries: Israel and Iran.
After ending a ceasefire two months ago, Israel is intensifying the war in the Gaza Strip, where a blockade on food, medicine and other supplies is worsening a humanitarian crisis. And Iran, an enemy of Israel and a rival of Saudi Arabia, stands on the cusp of being able to develop nuclear weapons.
An agreement for Saudi Arabia to buy more than 100 billion dollar of US arms and other military equipment is widely reported to be among the deals Trump is due to announce on this trip.
Missiles, radar systems and transport aircraft are reportedly part of the package.
The US has been a longstanding arms supplier to Saudi Arabia, but that relationship faltered in 2021 when the Biden administration stopped selling Riyadh offensive weapons, citing concerns about the country’s role in the war in neighbouring Yemen.
The 2018 killing of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was also widely reported to be a factor – a US intelligence report found that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the murder, but Saudi Arabia described it as “false”.
The Biden White House resumed the sale of offensive weapons last year, saying the Saudis had stopped bombing Yemen. Some commentators said the US was seeking Saudi assistance to help end the conflict in Gaza and aid its future reconstruction.
In 2019, Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met during a G20 summit held in Japan.
The US President has spoken from Saudi Arabia with released Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander.
In a post on X, the US special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff said he met with Alexander and they spoke with Trump.
Witkoff said the president is committed to bringing home all of the hostages.
There were reports Alexander was going to meet Trump in Qatar this week but a statement from the hostage forum, which represents the families, said he won’t be flying there.