Trump Seals $142 Billion Arms Deal in Saudi Arabia, Touting Historic U.S.-Gulf Alliance

 

President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend a signing ceremony at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Trump Seals $142 Billion Arms Deal in Saudi Arabia, Touting Historic U.S.-Gulf Alliance

DECK

Strategic agreements signed in Riyadh mark a deepening military and economic alliance as President Trump embarks on his second term’s high-stakes Middle East tour.

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KEY FACTS

What: U.S.–Saudi Arabia arms package totaling nearly $142 billion
Where: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
When: Signed May 13, 2025
Who: President Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Scope: Defense tech, missile systems, civil nuclear cooperation
Also notable: VIP meetings with Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Stephen Schwarzman, and Larry Fink

Next stops: Qatar and UAE for investment and diplomatic talks

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SITUATION SNAPSHOT

Under the opulent chandeliers of the Saudi Royal Court, President Donald Trump returned to familiar diplomatic ground, surrounded by Gulf leaders, defense executives, and Silicon Valley powerhouses. The occasion was monumental: a record-breaking arms agreement that signals not only a fortified U.S.–Saudi alliance but also a recalibration of Middle East power dynamics in the post-pandemic geopolitical order.

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WHAT WE KNOW

The White House confirmed that President Trump and Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, formalized a sweeping military agreement worth nearly $142 billion.

Described by the administration as "the largest defense cooperation agreement" in U.S. history, the package spans numerous sectors, including air defense and missile technology, and involves over a dozen American defense contractors.

In addition to the arms deal, the visit also saw the announcement of a partnership between Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior and the FBI, a rare bilateral move in intelligence-sharing cooperation.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump participated in a private lunch with prominent business figures, including Elon Musk—who leads the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, and BlackRock’s Larry Fink.

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WHAT’S NEXT

President Trump is scheduled to attend a state dinner with Crown Prince Mohammed later Tuesday evening.

He is also slated to participate in a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, where leaders will focus on regional stabilization efforts, including de-escalation in the Israel-Hamas conflict and renewed dialogue around Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Later this week, Trump will travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to secure further economic and diplomatic commitments. His announcement that he intends to accept a luxury aircraft as a gift from Qatar has already prompted legal scrutiny and raised constitutional concerns.

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VOICES ON THE GROUND

"The deals celebrated today are historic and transformative for both countries and represent a new golden era of partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia," the White House said in a statement.

Elizabeth Dent, senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told, "there is also the potential for a civil-nuclear deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, which was long tied to the possibility of Saudi-Israel normalization but has recently been decoupled."

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CONTEXT

The agreement comes amid Saudi Arabia’s accelerated push to diversify its oil-dependent economy under its Vision 2030 initiative. U.S. arms sales and tech partnerships are seen as critical components in helping the kingdom modernize its military and industrial sectors.

President Trump’s renewed focus on the Middle East reflects his administration’s strategic tilt toward transactional diplomacy and big-ticket bilateral deals.

Notably, this is not Trump’s first major overture in Riyadh. In May 2017, during his first presidential term, Trump addressed the Arab-Islamic-American summit in the same city, emphasizing regional security cooperation and counterterrorism.

Although many expected his first foreign visit of the new term to mirror that precedent, Trump instead made an earlier diplomatic stop at the Vatican last month for the funeral of Pope Francis.

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REPORTER INSIGHT

Covering Trump’s high-profile return to Riyadh felt like a déjà vu with a twist—familiar faces in unfamiliar roles, and familiar goals in a region still defined by delicate balances of power. The optics of American business elites mingling with Gulf royalty underscore a deepening marriage of defense, diplomacy, and digital ambition.