18.11.2025
US President Donald Trump has feted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia made his first White House visit since 2018.
Trump rolled out the red carpet for the prince on Tuesday with a fly-by, gun salute and a planned gala dinner later — giving the Saudi the equivalent of a state dinner.
He welcomed Prince Mohammed with a handshake and arm slung over his shoulder.
Trump has made a priority of boosting ties with the oil-rich Gulf kingdom, and said on Monday he would sell coveted F-35 stealth fighters to Saudi Arabia, despite objections from Israel and Zionist groups in US.
In another area of past contention, he will sign a deal on a framework for civilian nuclear cooperation, a source familiar with the negotiations said.
Trump will also push Prince Mohammed to normalise relations with Israel as he seeks a wider Middle East peace deal after Israel suspended genocide in besieged Gaza.
“We’re more than meeting,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Friday when asked about the visit.
“We’re honoring Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince.”
The 40-year-old prince has fostered close ties with Trump and his family over the years — a relationship burnished by a lavish welcome and $600 billion in investment pledges when the president visited Saudi Arabia in May.
Prince Mohammed will have his own agenda, seeking firmer US security guarantees after Israeli attacks in September on Qatar, an iron-clad US ally, rattled the wealthy Gulf region.
Along with the F-35 jets, Riyadh is seeking to buy advanced air and missile defence systems. It will also push hard for access to the high-tech chips it needs to fuel its AI ambitions, experts say. TRT.