Trump Welcomes Saudi Royal in First Post-Khashoggi Death Visit

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump will receive Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, marking the Saudi leader’s first White House visit since Saudi agents killed Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Seven years after the Khashoggi operation—a killing US intelligence says Prince Mohammed likely ordered—US-Saudi ties have rebounded. Trump has warmly embraced the 40-year-old crown prince, whom he sees as a key player in shaping the Middle East, while Mohammed continues to deny any involvement in the journalist’s death.

Khashoggi is likely to take a back seat as the leaders unveil multi-billion-dollar deals and meet on Middle East issues, ending the day with a White House reception hosted by First Lady Melania Trump.

"They have been a great ally," Trump said of the Saudis on the eve of the visit.

Ahead of Prince Mohammed's arrival, Trump announced he has agreed to sell the Saudis F-35 fighter jets despite some concerns within the administration that the sale could lead to China gaining access to the US technology behind the advanced weapon system.

Trump's announcement is also surprising because some in the Republican administration have been wary about upsetting “Israel's” qualitative military edge over its neighbors, especially at a time when Trump is depending on "Israeli" support for the success of his Gaza peace plan.

But the unexpected move comes at a moment when Trump is trying to nudge the Saudis toward normalizing relations with "Israel".

Trump, who pushed the “Abraham Accords” linking "Israel" with Gulf states, now seeks to expand them despite ongoing Palestinian suffering after the "Israeli" war on Gaza.

And getting Saudi Arabia — the largest Arab economy and the birthplace of Islam — to sign on would create an enormous domino effect, he argues. The president in recent weeks has even predicted that once Saudi Arabia signs on to the accords, "everybody" in the Arab world "goes in."

But the Saudis have maintained that a clear path toward Palestinian statehood must first be established before normalizing relations with "Israel" can be considered. The "Israelis", meanwhile, remain steadfastly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.

The UN Security Council on Monday approved a US plan for Gaza that authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security in the devastated territory and envisions a possible future path to an independent Palestinian state.

And the Saudis are looking to receive formal assurances from Trump defining the scope of US military protection for the kingdom, even though anything not ratified by Congress can be undone by the next president.

Prince Mohammed, 40, who has stayed away from the West after the Khashoggi killing, is also looking to reestablish his position as a global player and a leader determined to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil by investing in sectors like mining, technology and tourism.

To that end, Saudi Arabia is expected to announce a multi-billion-dollar investment in US artificial intelligence infrastructure, and the two countries will lay out details about new cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector, according to a senior Trump administration who was not authorized to comment publicly ahead of the formal announcement.