The United States and Saudi Arabia have officially entered into a groundbreaking $142 billion arms deal, which the White House has hailed as the “largest defense sales agreement in history.” This significant agreement marks the first stop on former President Donald Trump’s four-day diplomatic tour of the Gulf states, which aims to secure major deals while emphasizing the advantages of Trump's transactional foreign policy.
During his diplomatic trip, the White House announced that Trump is scheduled to meet with Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former rebel commander instrumental in the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in 2024. This informal meeting will be historic, as it represents the first face-to-face encounter between a US president and a Syrian leader since 2000, when Bill Clinton met with Hafez al-Assad in Geneva.
In a statement at an investment forum, Trump expressed his intentions to lift sanctions on Syria following discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump declared.
Sharaa's strategy to engage the US president includes offers of access to Syrian oil, lucrative reconstruction contracts, and the ambitious proposal to construct a Trump Tower in Damascus in exchange for lifting US sanctions. While the specifics of the sanctions relief remain ambiguous, Sharaa's team in Damascus celebrated the potential breakthrough. “This is amazing, it worked,” remarked Radwan Ziadeh, a Syrian writer and activist close to Sharaa, sharing an initial mockup of the proposed Trump Tower.
The visit was heavily focused on securing business interests and quick wins, often embellished in true Trumpian style. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged to invest $600 billion in the United States during a lunch with Trump. This investment includes commitments such as $20 billion for artificial intelligence data centers, $14.2 billion for gas turbines and energy equipment, and nearly $5 billion for Boeing 737-8 jets. However, the details surrounding these commitments remain vague, with some programs having originated under President Joe Biden’s administration.
The White House touted the arms deal as the “largest defense sales agreement in history,” which encompasses plans for over a dozen US defense companies to provide weapons, equipment, and services focused on air force enhancement, space capabilities, air and missile defense, and border security.
Upon arriving in Riyadh, Trump was greeted with a royal guard and was escorted by Saudi Royal Air Force F-15s. The president engaged with members of the US and Saudi business elite, including notable figures like Elon Musk and prominent leaders in artificial intelligence such as Sam Altman, as well as the chief executives of major corporations like IBM, BlackRock, Citigroup, Palantir, and Nvidia. During the meeting, when Salman pledged the $600 billion investment, Trump humorously suggested it should be $1 trillion.
This diplomatic mission is part of a broader reordering of Middle Eastern politics, driven by Trump’s “America First” agenda, which prioritizes US economic and security interests over traditional foreign alliances and international law. Critics have argued that these deals strengthen Trump and his close circle of businessmen, raising concerns over potential conflicts of interest, especially as Trump's family has business interests in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar.
One of the most controversial aspects of this new approach to foreign policy is the proposed gift from the ruling family of Qatar: a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet that could be transformed into a presidential aircraft for Trump and later donated to his presidential library. This offer has sparked outrage among congressional Democrats, with one describing it as an “aerial palace” and labeling it the “most valuable gift ever conferred on a president by a foreign government.”
While the meetings were characterized by camaraderie, Trump acknowledged that achieving diplomatic recognition of Israel by Saudi Arabia would require time, largely due to Israel's ongoing conflict in Gaza. “It will be a special day in the Middle East when Saudi Arabia joins us in the Abraham Accords,” he stated, emphasizing that the timing would be at the discretion of the Saudi leadership.
Following his visit to Saudi Arabia, Trump plans to travel to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, continuing his emphasis on high-stakes investment deals throughout the region. The negotiations have also influenced his shift in US policy regarding Syria, with Sharaa reportedly offering numerous incentives, including the Trump Tower in Damascus and a demilitarized zone near the Golan Heights to enhance Israel's territorial claims.
Notably, Trump's itinerary omits a visit to Israel, the United States' closest ally in the region, due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and his complicated relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As Trump embarks on this diplomatic journey, the dynamics of Middle Eastern politics continue to evolve, shaped by investment pledges and strategic negotiations.
In a related development, Hamas recently released the last American hostage, Edan Alexander, just before Trump's visit, seemingly to encourage him to pressure Netanyahu for a resolution to the conflict. Netanyahu, however, remains steadfast, declaring that any ceasefire would only be temporary and reaffirming his commitment to the military campaign against Hamas.
