Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Washington on Tuesday for high-stakes talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, a visit aimed at reinforcing decades-old
cooperation on oil and security while expanding collaboration in technology, commerce, and potentially nuclear energy.
The trip marks MBS’s first to the United States since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a murder that U.S. intelligence agencies concluded the crown prince had approved. MBS has denied ordering the operation but acknowledged responsibility as the kingdom’s de facto ruler.
More than seven years later, both nations appear intent on moving beyond the diplomatic rift. Trump is pursuing the $600 billion in Saudi investment pledged during his visit to Riyadh earlier this year, and once again is expected to avoid raising human rights concerns.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is seeking long-sought security guarantees as regional tensions intensify, along with access to advanced artificial intelligence technology and progress toward a civilian nuclear agreement with Washington.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Trump confirmed that he intends to authorize the sale of advanced U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia — a major policy shift that could reshape the military balance in the Middle East and test Washington’s longstanding commitment to preserving Israel’s qualitative military edge.
Defense deal at the center of talks
For decades, the U.S.–Saudi relationship has been built on a simple formula: Riyadh supplies stable oil flows and Washington provides security. But that equation was shaken in 2019 when the U.S. did not respond militarily to Iranian attacks on Saudi oil facilities. Regional anxieties deepened again in September when Israel struck Doha, Qatar, saying it targeted Hamas operatives.
Trump later signed a defense pact with Qatar through executive order, fueling expectations that Saudi Arabia could receive a similar — though likely more limited — commitment.
Riyadh has pushed for a formal defense treaty ratified by Congress, but Washington has tied that demand to Saudi moves toward normalizing relations with Israel. Saudi officials have insisted such normalization requires Israel to commit to eventual Palestinian statehood — a step Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again rejected on Sunday, despite a recent Trump-brokered Gaza ceasefire.
Analysts say an executive order would fall short of the treaty Saudi Arabia wants but could serve as a stepping stone. “It would be a step in the process, not the end of the process,” said Aziz Alghashian, a Saudi-based international relations lecturer.
A Western diplomat in the Gulf summed up the standoff: “Trump wants normalization, Saudi wants a full defense pact. Both will likely get less than they want. That’s diplomacy.”
Dennis Ross, a veteran Middle East negotiator, said an executive order could lay out procedures for immediate U.S.–Saudi consultations during crises without guaranteeing direct U.S. military intervention. Such support could range from replacing weapons and deploying defensive systems like THAAD or Patriot batteries to providing naval forces — or even joining offensive operations.
Competition in technology and nuclear energy
Beyond security, MBS will press for deals in nuclear energy and artificial intelligence as part of Saudi Arabia’s sweeping Vision 2030 initiative. Access to advanced computer chips, in particular, is crucial to the kingdom’s ambition to become a global AI hub and to compete with the United Arab Emirates, which secured access to high-end chips under a multibillion-dollar U.S. data center partnership earlier this year.
The crown prince also wants a U.S.-backed civilian nuclear program to diversify Saudi Arabia’s energy sector and keep pace with regional rivals — the UAE, which already operates a civilian nuclear plant, and Iran, whose nuclear activities Riyadh views as a strategic threat.
But negotiations have stalled over U.S. demands that Saudi Arabia forgo uranium enrichment and reprocessing, technologies that could provide pathways to developing nuclear weapons. Ross said he expects at least a statement signaling progress on the issue, if not an agreement outright.
As the two leaders meet, both sides appear eager to showcase continuity in a relationship that has weathered one of its most tumultuous periods in recent history — even as the most sensitive issues remain far from resolved. Photo by U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Julius Delos Reyes, Wikimedia commons.
