President Donald Trump will host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House next week for talks on bilateral ties and regional issues including sale of American F-35 fighter jets and prospects for Riyadh normalizing relations with Israel.
The meeting on Tuesday takes place in the backdrop of U.S.-mediated ceasefire in Gaza after two years of devasting conflict, which, together with Israeli actions in other countries, pushed the Middle East to the edge of a wider war.
Both Washington and Riyadh see great value in strengthening their strategic partnership, which received a major boost with President Donald Trump’s visit to Riyadh in May this year.
Now, the Gaza ceasefire has further improved environment for Washington and Riyadh to focus on expanding bilateral relations including a security pact between the two countries, sale of advanced 48 F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia, and progress toward Riyad establishing diplomatic ties with Israel.
Trump hopes Saudi Arabia will join Abraham Accords, normalizing ties with Israel
U.S. and Saudi officials have had several rounds of negotiations to finalize agreements ahead of the Oval Office meeting. Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, who is the crown prince’s younger brother, visited Washington this week while Jared Kushner visited Riyadh as part of negotiations, according to an Axios report.
During the visit, Prince Khalid met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House envoy Steve Witkoff.
“We reviewed the Saudi-US relations and explored ways to bolster our strategic cooperation. We also addressed regional and international developments,” he wrote in a post on X platform.
The two sides have also been in discussions to reach an agreement on U.S. security guarantees for Saudi Arabia, which, reportedlu, is likely to be similar to the arrangement that Washington recently had with Qatar – through an executive order – as a legally binding pact would require Congressional approval.
The White House or Saudi officials have not specifically commented on prospects for the deals or the latest developments between the two countries.
Trump, who secured pledges of hundreds of billions of dollars in investment during his visit to Saudi Arabia in May, wants to see progress towards Riyadh establishing relations with Israel now that there is a ceasefire in place in Gaza.
Trump signs partnership deal with Saudi Arabia; Riyadh pledges $1 trillion investment in U.S.
In a report, Reuters news service said the chances of Riyadh’s immediate nod on joining Abraham Accords – worked out during President Trump’s first White House term in 2020 – is linked to Israeli guarantees towards establishment of a Palestinian state and may not happen soon.
When it happens, Saudi Arabia’s recognition of Israel would be considered a big development with geostrategic ramifications for the oil-rich region, seeking stability in the form of a permanent end to Gaza war.
Citing two Gulf sources, Reuetrs said Riyadh has indicated to Washington that progress in that direction is linked to an Israeli agreement on a roadmap to Palestinian statehood.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has not shown any willingness to commit to an agreement toward that end. However, experts say, as Gaza peace plan moves forward, Washington and Riyadh have an opportunity to work on the contentious issue.
Ali Imran is a Washington-based journalist, who has worked for leading world news organizations as correspondent, expert and in editorial positions. He is a published author and poet.
