November 19, 2025

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Saudi De-Facto Leader MBS Visit Cements Strategic Ties to Washington

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

U.S. and global leaders looked to the visit of Saudi Crown Prince, Prime Minister and de-facto leader Mohammad bin Salman (Al Saud, “MBS”) to the White House Tuesday to cement a U.S.-Saudi strategic alliance that can help deter and defend against the wide range of threats still facing the region. President Trump welcomed MBS with an elaborate ceremony that included a flyover and cannon salute, capping MBS’s rehabilitation in the eyes of the sitting U.S. government after his involvement in the 2018 killing of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. Trump’s high-level reception for MBS — taking on the trappings of a “state visit” even though MBS is not technically the leader of Saudi Arabia — attracted criticism from human rights organizations and others who argue Trump, and Biden before him, have downplayed MBS’s human rights abuses in the interests of advancing U.S. economic and strategic objectives. During their joint press availability, Trump claimed MBS was unaware of the Khashoggi murder, contradicting the conclusion of U.S. intelligence, and asserted, “a lot of people didn’t like” the slain journalist. The visit of MBS and his entourage, which included hundreds of people, including virtually the entire Saudi cabinet, reciprocates Trump’s visit to the Kingdom (as well as to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar) in May. That trip highlighted Trump’s focus on attracting Gulf investment to the U.S. and on cooperation on new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and rare-earth minerals.

On defense and security matters, some aspects of MBS’s record have found more favor in recent years. U.S. and regional leaders assert the Iran-backed Houthis’ post-October 7 attacks on Red Sea commercial shipping justify MBS’s assessment of the Houthis as a threat and support his 2015 decision, along with the UAE, to combat the group in Yemen. Although the Kingdom and the Houthis have abided by a bilateral ceasefire since 2022, MBS and Trump consider the Houthis and their Iranian patrons a continuing threat, not only to Saudi Arabia but also to the U.S. and global commerce.

In their joint public appearances yesterday, Trump emphasized the same themes he stressed during his visit to the Kingdom in May — economic cooperation, particularly on high technology, and Saudi investment. During their Oval Office meeting, MBS affirmed the Kingdom had pledged to invest up to $1 trillion in the U.S. economy over the coming years, with a focus on positioning the U.S. technology industry, in particular, as the supplier of choice to Kingdom. The figure represented an increase from the $600 billion in Saudi investment pledges announced by Trump during his May visit to the Kingdom. MBS told journalists at the White House his Vision 2030 economic diversification will require many billions of dollars of Saudi purchases of advanced U.S. semiconductors and other products used for artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies. On Wednesday, a U.S.-Saudi investment forum organized to coincide with the MBS visit is expected to firm up several multi-billion dollar deals between U.S. business executives and their Saudi counterparts in technology, rare earth minerals, and other industries.

Even though Trump sought to highlight the economic benefits of the U.S.-Saudi relationship, defense and security matters appeared to top the bilateral agenda for the visit. MBS’s visit to Washington occurs in a dramatically altered geostrategic context in which the Kingdom’s primary adversary, Iran, has been weakened considerably. But MBS and other Saudi leaders assess that Tehran will try to rebuild its influence, and they see Iran’s ally, the Houthis, as still able to undertake preemptive military action against targets in the Kingdom. A restart of hostilities with the Houthis would distract MBS and his government from implementing their economic and social reform programs. And like other Arab leaders, MBS has concerns about Israel’s post-October 7 inclination to undertake military action throughout the region. Gulf leaders were particularly alarmed by Israel’s September strike on a meeting of Hamas leaders in Doha, which led the region’s rulers to press Trump to restrain Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump indicated during a joint press availability with MBS that the two countries have reached an agreement on a defense accord that commits to defending the Kingdom in the event of an attack. Saudi leaders have often cited a September 2019 Iranian drone attack on Saudi energy facilities as justifying their request for a binding U.S. defense accord. Trump did not detail the provisions of the new defense accord, but MBS is known to have insisted the pact resemble a U.S.-Qatar defense agreement signed after Israel’s strike on Doha. The text of the U.S.-Qatar agreement approximates the “Article 5” collective defense provisions of the NATO Charter, stating: “The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States. In the event of such an attack, the United States shall take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability.” However, experts note that MBS would prefer the agreement, unlike the U.S.-Qatar pact concluded under a Trump Executive order, to be permanent and not subject to easy reversal by a subsequent president. However, Trump has announced no commitment to categorize a U.S.-Saudi defense agreement as a treaty subject to Senate ratification — an approval many experts assess as doubtful.

Related to the defense pact, Trump affirmed during his meetings with MBS that he would be willing to sell the Kingdom up to 48 F-35 fifth-generation combat aircraft, a system approved for sale only to the closest U.S. allies. Trump said the sale, if completed, would constitute the largest U.S. arms sale ever — in dollar value. However, experts argue that MBS appreciated an offer of the F-35 sale as a symbol of the U.S. commitment to the Kingdom’s defense, but MBS might not necessarily buy the jet. U.S. officials are likely to offer the Saudis a version of the aircraft that excludes some of its most advanced features, to meet a legal requirement to preserve Israel’s “Qualitative Military Edge” (QME) over potential rivals.

The Trump-MBS defense agreements announced during the visit signal that Trump has “de-linked” a U.S. defense commitment to the Kingdom from the Saudi agreement to normalize relations with Israel. Trump reportedly had hoped to secure MBS’s agreement to join the 2020 Abraham Accords normalization of relations with Israel prior to his visit. However, experts noted Trump’s hopes were unrealistic, arguing Israel’s staunch opposition to a Palestinian state puts Israel far from meeting Saudi conditions for normalizing relations. In the Tuesday meeting with Trump, MBS affirmed experts’ assessments that he would not yield to Trump on this issue, stating Saudi Arabia “wants” to join the Accords, but doing so will require “a clear path to a two-state [Israeli-Palestinian] solution.” The MBS visit came one day after the UN Security Council adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution endorsing Trump’s Gaza peace plan, which sets out a process that could set the conditions for an eventual Palestinian state. However, neither Trump’s peace plan nor the Security Council resolution commits to that outcome, and Israeli leaders have signaled no flexibility in their opposition to a Palestinian state.

MBS and other Gulf rulers strongly supported the Resolution, including its inclusion of a binding insistence that Hamas disarm and play no role in the postwar governance of Gaza. On the other hand, like other regional leaders, MBS has not announced a firm pledge to contribute Saudi forces to the International Stabilization Force (ISF) envisioned as an interim peacekeeping force for Gaza. Regional and other states are hesitant to send troops into Gaza under conditions where they might engage in combat with Hamas militia fighters whose leaders refuse to disarm. The Kingdom has also ruled out any investment in reconstructing Gaza, unless Gaza is free of Hamas influence and there is no possibility the war will restart.

Considering Trump did not advance his goal to enlist the Kingdom in the Abraham Accords, it is likely that MBS did not obtain the hoped-for pledges from Trump to engage in civilian nuclear cooperation. The Saudi request has attracted opposition from many in the U.S. Congress because of the Kingdom’s insistence that a civil nuclear pact allow it to enrich uranium on Saudi territory. This process could enable the development of a nuclear weapon. The Saudis had long demanded that permission, arguing that the 2015 multilateral Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) allowed Iran to enrich uranium under controlled conditions. Some Trump officials had advocated a U.S.-Saudi nuclear technology agreement because U.S. sales of nuclear technology would deter Saudi leaders from approaching Russia or China for that equipment. However, when asked during his meeting with MBS about a nuclear accord, Trump was non-committal. He said, “I could see that happening,” but indicated an agreement would not be signed during the MBS visit, stating, “It’s not urgent.”