Trump hails 'bright new day for Middle East' on first leg of Gulf visit

Live updates: Follow the latest on Trump's Gulf trip

Donald Trump painted a vision of a “bright new day” for the Middle East on Tuesday as he announced a lifting of sanctions on Syria, offered to bury the hatchet with Iran and encouraged Saudi Arabia to forge ties with Israel, on the first day of his Gulf tour.

On a day of ceremony, business deals and high-stakes diplomacy in Riyadh, Mr Trump lauded the region's leaders for having "achieved a modern miracle, the Arabian way" by bringing prosperity and growing diplomatic clout to the Middle East. He described the Saudi capital as an emerging “business, cultural and high-tech capital of the entire world”.

After a ceremonial welcome, a greeting by Saudi dignitaries at the royal court, and a tour of an exhibition in Riyadh, Mr Trump gave a speech to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and assembled guests setting out his second administration's Middle East policy.

“We’re still just at the dawn of the bright new day that awaits for the people of the Middle East,” he said as he praised the “new generation of leaders” reshaping the region.

President Trump's visit to the Gulf – in pictures

Mr Trump will attend a meeting of Gulf leaders in Riyadh on Wednesday before travelling to Qatar and the UAE later in the week. A White House official said Mr Trump had “agreed to say hello” to Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

In his speech at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Centre, the US President called on Middle East leaders to “unify against the few agents of chaos and terror that are left”, identifying Iran as the main threat. He said the “choice is theirs” on whether the regime in Tehran will accept the offer of diplomacy.

Addressing Saudi Arabia, he said it was his “fervent hope” that the kingdom would join the Abraham Accords under which countries including the UAE established diplomatic ties with Israel. He said Saudi Arabia “will do it in your own time”.

He said discussions with Prince Mohammed had led to his decision to lift sanctions imposed on Bashar Al Assad's fallen regime in Damascus. “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Mr Trump announced.

Business deals

Mr Trump celebrated a flurry of business announcements as Saudi Arabia promised to invest $600 billion in the US via deals in energy, defence and technology. Prince Mohammed said the “next phase” would involve potential further agreements to take the total to $1 trillion.

The White House said the deals include "the largest defence sales agreement in history", worth nearly $142 billion, providing Saudi Arabia with weapons and services from more than a dozen US defence firms.

The US tech company Oracle said it would invest $14 billion in Saudi Arabia over 10 years, including on bringing artificial intelligence to the kingdom. Saudi oil exporter Aramco meanwhile plans to expand its refinery in the US with a $3.4 billion investment, said its chief executive Amin Nasser.

Part of the US entourage was Mr Trump's ally Elon Musk, the owner of the electric car manufacturer Tesla. He announced the company would be bringing its Robotaxi vehicles to Saudi Arabia.

Ceremonial welcome

Mr Trump landed on Tuesday at King Khalid International Airport, where he was received by the Crown Prince. Typically, a provincial governor or another official greets a foreign leader on arrival.

The change of protocol signals Prince Mohammed's desire to establish a close relationship with the US leader. Mr Trump was also welcomed by Princess Reema bint Bandar, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, and Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, the deputy governor of Riyadh.

The US President is travelling with Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth. It is the 13th visit by a sitting US President to Saudi Arabia, with eight presidents in total having made the trip.

Trump's Saudi Royal Court meet and greet – in pictures

Saudi and American flags lined the airport grounds, and a purple carpet was rolled out to welcome the visiting delegation – a further gesture underscoring the significance of Mr Trump's visit.

Mr Trump’s arrival in Saudi Arabia marks his first official state visit since he returned to the White House in January for a second, non-consecutive term. His first foreign trip was to Rome last month to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.

While pressing for a settlement to the war in Ukraine, the Trump administration is also focused on pushing for a new aid mechanism for war-torn Gaza and is urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a new ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

Mr Trump's tour also comes amid growing tension over Iran’s nuclear programme. US and Iranian negotiators held a fourth round of talks in Oman over the weekend to discuss a potential deal that would curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Mr Trump has previously warned that military action remains an option if diplomacy fails.

Despite the security backdrop, Mr Trump's visit is expected to be driven largely by economic goals. The US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE are expected to announce new investment deals potentially worth trillions of dollars.

The UAE has announced a 10-year, $1.4 trillion investment framework targeting US infrastructure, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, manufacturing and natural gas.

As with his last visit, in 2017, Mr Trump's trip highlights the prominence he places on transactional diplomacy and his intention to position the US as a preferred partner in the Gulf's evolving economic landscape. However, eight years on, the Gulf has become more self-assured and strategically diversified.

Mr Trump does not plan to visit Israel during this trip – a decision that has caused concern about the Trump administration's priorities in Israeli political circles.

Analysts argue that Mr Trump views Mr Netanyahu as a potential block to his broader regional strategy. That perception intensified last week after Mr Trump announced that the US would stop air strikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, following their pledge to cease attacks on American vessels in the Red Sea. However, the agreement did not cover Houthi strikes on Israel.

Mr Trump's administration has also secured the release of the American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander through back-channel negotiations with Hamas, bypassing Israeli authorities.

Mr Netanyahu ties his political survival to continuing the war in Gaza. But many, both in Israel and abroad, believe the continuing campaign serves few – if any – constructive ends.