President Donald Trump will embark on Monday on a four -day tour of the Middle East, stopping in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on a trip that underlines the deepest economic ties between the United States and the kingdoms of the Gulf.
Traveling to a region facing ongoing diplomatic, political and security challenges-including Iran’s nuclear program, the humanitarian crisis in gaza and war Between Israel and Hamas, and the Fate of Syria Following A Brutal 14-Year Civil War-Trump is Expecta to Focus on Business on Business Development and Trade Agreements on his trip, following commitments from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates To Invest Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in the United States and on Joint Investments Over the Next Several years.
On Friday, the White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Trump’s trip “will focus on strengthening ties” between the United States and the nations of the Gulf.
“President Trump will emphasize his continuous vision of a proud, prosperous and successful medium, where the United States and the nations of the Middle East are in a cooperative relationship and where extremism is defeated instead of commerce and cultural exchanges,” he said.
Saudi heir prince Mohammed Bin Salman promised to invest $ 600 billion in the United States for four years after Trump’s victory in November, and the United Arab Emirates have also committed to an US investment package of $ 1.4 billion in the next decade. Business and technology leaders will meet at Riyadh around Trump’s trip for a Saudi-US investment forum.
President Donald Trump observes as comments outside the west wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 8, 2025.
Kent Nishimura/Reuters
ABC News also reported that the Trump administration is preparing to accept a luxury jumbo boeing jeto of the Royal Qatar family for use as a presidential plane before being transferred to the foundation of the Trump presidential library after its mandate ends.
The White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, responded to ABC News reports, saying in a statement that “any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws.”
The president’s family has also traveled to the region and expanded their commercial interests in the Middle East: the Trump organization has been associated with developers in new projects in Saudi Arabia, Doha and the United Arab Emirates, and is involved in a cryptocurrency company connected to a fund with ties with the Emirati government.
Leavitt ruled out questions about the business of the president in the region on Friday before his trip and said that Trump “has actually lost money for being president of the United States.”
“The president acts with only the interests of the American public in mind, putting our country first and doing the best for our country, full stop,” he said.
“It is frankly ridiculous that anyone in this Chamber suggests that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit. He left a luxury life and a life of managing a very successful real estate empire for public service,” he added later.
The White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, talks to journalists in the reports of James Brady Press at the White House, on May 9, 2025, in Washington.
Leah Millis/Reuters
Trump also began his first term in office with a visit to Saudi Arabia, at a break with his predecessors that had visited the traditional allies of the United States and the main commercial partners on their first official foreign trips.
That trip to Saudi Arabia, which also included stops in Israel and later in Europe, focused on encouraging local partners to redouble efforts to combat “extremism” and terrorist groups, and work to marginalize Iran.
Since then, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have improved relations with Iran, and now support the diplomatic efforts of the Trump administration to address Iran’s nuclear program.
“Both the Saudi and the Emiratis have decided that their priority is the economic investment and the departure of energy, and that the war with Iran is like a great danger to all that. Therefore, they have completely changed to Iran,” said ABC News, a specialist in the Middle East who worked in the administrations of Obama and Biden.
The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza also looms over Trump’s trip, given Israel’s plans to expand military operations in Gaza.
President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Egyptian President Abdel Fattaah El-Sisi put their hands on a lit balloon during the opening ceremony of the global center for extremist ideology in Riad, Saudi Arabia, on May 21, 2017.
Bandar Algaloud/Saudi Royal Council/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and President Donald Trump join dancers with swords at the Murabba Palace ahead of a dinner in honor of Trump in Riad, Saudi Arabia, on May 20, 2017.
Bandar Algaloud/Saudi Royal Council/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
In Riad, Trump is expected to join a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council before traveling to Qatar.
While the president has aimed to indicate a regional diplomatic agreement that expands in Abraham’s agreements of his first term, the war in Gaza has effectively frozen efforts to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, they told ABC News.
“From the Saudi perspective, it is more difficult to” improve diplomatic relations with Israel, Zineb Ribaua, a member of the Hudson Peace and Security Center in the Middle East. “Due to what has happened and what is currently happening [in Gaza]They are fighting. “
Trump could listen to Arab leaders about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, given the ongoing military support of the United States to Israel, and Israelí plans to expand their campaign in Gaza to eliminate Hamas.
In February, Trump proposed that the United States “take care” of Gaza and help to rebuild it, a plan that was rejected by Arab leaders, who presented their own counterproposal to which the United States and Israel have opposed.
There have also been disputes between the United States, Israel and Arab nations on how to administer humanitarian aid by Israel to the Palestinians in Gaza.
Although the trip is Trump’s first foreign trip, he traveled to Rome and the Vatican in April to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.
Apart from that trip, Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while the two countries worked to consolidate a mineral agreement.
Saudi Arabia has organized bilateral peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, underlining the growing political influence of the kingdom, in addition to its economic and commercial importance in the region.
Trump “sees the Gulf as they see themselves, as a true global power point,” Jon Alterman, president of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told ABC.
“Many people in the world think that the Gulf is an atypical case. A lot of small and rich states that trust the United States for security, protection. Gulf looks differently, and the president suggests that he sees the Gulf differently,” he said.
Trump could receive a luxurious welcome from the Gulf monarchs in the region, similar to the real treatment he received when he visited Saudi Arabia in 2017.
The Saudi extended the red carpet for their arrival, greeting it at the airport with a military jet flip and then giving it a gold medal, the main civil honor of the nation, and treating it to a traditional sword dance.
Trump’s trip also arrives immediately after Hamas, announcing that they will release the Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, a double American citizen, who will be part of the steps taken to achieve a high fire. Hamas said they have been in contact with US officials in recent days about efforts to try to achieve a high fire agreement.
President Donald Trump published on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Sunday night, confirming that Alexander will be released from Hamas. Trump did not specify when Alexander was expected to be released, but said: “This is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict.”
