Saudi Crown Prince's US Visit: F-35 Deal and Abraham Accords Top Agenda in Trump Meeting

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and US President Donald Trump are set to meet in Washington for high-level diplomatic talks.

President Trump will welcome Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday with full ceremonial honors, in a visit expected to facilitate the sale of F-35 fighter jets and numerous business agreements with the kingdom.

This marks MBS's first visit to the United States since the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives in Istanbul, an incident that sparked worldwide condemnation.

US intelligence assessed that MBS authorized Khashoggi's killing or capture. While the Crown Prince denied ordering the operation, he acknowledged his responsibility as Saudi Arabia's de facto leader.

The elaborate reception planned in Washington demonstrates that bilateral relations have substantially recovered from the tensions created by the Khashoggi incident.

The diplomatic schedule includes Oval Office discussions, a formal lunch in the Cabinet Room, and an evening black-tie dinner at the White House.

Trump aims to capitalize on Saudi Arabia's $600 billion investment commitment made during his May visit to the kingdom. A senior White House official revealed expectations for agreements spanning technology, manufacturing, and defense sectors.

President Trump confirmed to reporters on Monday that the US will be selling F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, which has requested 48 of these advanced aircraft.

This potential sale represents a significant policy shift as it would be the first transfer of F-35s to Saudi Arabia. The deal could reshape the military equilibrium in the Middle East and challenge America's commitment to maintaining Israel's "qualitative military edge." Currently, Israel is the only Middle Eastern nation possessing F-35s.

Beyond military equipment, the Saudi leader seeks security guarantees, access to artificial intelligence technology, and advancement on civilian nuclear program cooperation.

"The Saudis will be spending a lot of money tomorrow on the US," a senior White House official stated on Monday.

Dennis Ross, former US Middle East negotiator now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, explained that Trump is focused on developing a comprehensive relationship that prevents Saudi Arabia from moving into China's orbit.

"President Trump believes all these steps bind the Saudis increasingly to us on a range of issues, ranging from security to the finance-AI-energy nexus. He wants them bound to us on these issues and not China," Ross observed.

Trump is expected to urge MBS to join the Abraham Accords and establish formal diplomatic relations with Israel.

Saudi Arabia has been hesitant to take such a major diplomatic step without clear progress toward Palestinian statehood, an objective that has become less prominent amid the ongoing Gaza conflict.

During his first term in 2020, Trump brokered Abraham Accords agreements between Israel and several nations including Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Sudan. Recently, Kazakhstan also joined the initiative.

Trump has consistently viewed Saudi Arabia's participation in the Abraham Accords as essential for achieving broader Middle East peace.

"It's very important to him that they join the Abraham Accords during his term and so he has been hyping up the pressure on that," the senior White House official said.

Jonathan Panikoff, former deputy national intelligence officer on the Middle East, suggested that while Trump will encourage MBS toward normalizing relations with Israel, any lack of progress on that front is unlikely to prevent a new US-Saudi security agreement.

"President Trump's desire for investment into the US, which the crown prince previously promised, could help soften the ground for expanding defense ties even as the president is determined to advance Israeli-Saudi normalisation," said Panikoff, now at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington.