From F-35 jets to Khashoggi killing, key takeaways explained – Firstpost

There were handshakes, lots of patting on the back and dodging of press questions. That’s what happened when United States President Donald Trump hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Tuesday (November 18).

It was the Saudi crown prince’s first official visit to the US in seven years, marking a U-turn in how Washington treats the kingdom’s de facto leader and prioritizing broader US-Saudi relations.

And the Trump White House made sure MBS, as he is popularly known, was given the royal treatment – ​​fighter jets were flown in for his entrance, accompanied by an honor guard on horseback and a lavish dinner was thrown in the East Room, which included guests like Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook and soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi team Al-Nassr.

Saudi’s attempt to completely woo MBS

US President Trump pulled out all the stops for Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a clear indicator of how US leaders view relations with the Saudis. In fact, even before the Saudi royal family reached America, Trump had said, “We are more than meeting. We are honoring Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince.”

And it was truly an honor. US President Trump rolled out the red carpet for the Saudi crown prince as he formally welcomed him to the White House. The White House South Lawn was decorated with green Saudi flags. As the two leaders stood together watching the F-35 fighter planes fly overhead, a military band played.

Trump also criticized his predecessor Joe Biden for shaking the hand of Prince Mohammed during his visit to Saudi Arabia in 2022. “When you walk off the plane and you meet the future king – and a man who is one of the most respected people in the world – you shake his hand, you don’t punch him, right?” Trump said. “Trump doesn’t throw a fist. I hold that hand.”

Following their bilateral meeting, Trump and First Lady Melania also hosted MBS for a gala dinner attended by tech giants Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos as well as administration officials such as Vice President J.D. Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller as well as US House Speaker Mike Johnson. Musk’s attendance at the event was notable given his dispute with the President earlier this year.

Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was also present at the dinner with the US President and greeted him and said he introduced his son Barron to the football star.

They dined on pistachio-crusted rack of lamb, then enjoyed couverture mousse pears for dessert.

evading Khashoggi’s murder

After a warm welcome to MBS, the two proceeded to the Oval Office for bilateral talks. The journalists present here asked questions related to the murder of the Saudi journalist and Washington Post Columnist Jamal Khashoggi back in 2018. For those unaware, a Washington Post journalist was murdered and dismembered at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, with US intelligence saying Prince Mohammed had possibly approved the killing.

However, before MBS could answer the question, Trump got angry at him. abc The journalist called Khashoggi “extremely controversial” for embarrassing the Saudi royal on his first US visit since the assassination.

“A lot of people didn’t like the gentleman you’re talking about,” Trump said. “Whether you like him or you don’t like him, things happened, but he (the prince) didn’t know anything about it. And we can leave it at that. You don’t need to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.”

Holy crap, major props to this ABC News reporter for peppering Trump and MBS with tough questions, despite the weak sauce answers.

This press conference by a lying sex offender and murderer is disgraceful. Don’t go easy on them. pic.twitter.com/nX3jiZCWWJ

– BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) 18 November 2025

The US President also suggested this abc Should lose his broadcasting license over this question.

Meanwhile, Prince Mohammed said, “This has been painful for us in Saudi Arabia. We took all the right steps in Saudi Arabia with investigations and so on and we have improved our systems to make sure that something like this never happens again. And it is painful, and it was a big mistake.”

Trump later praised the Saudi leader for progress made by the kingdom on human rights, without giving any specific details, but possibly referring to reforms related to women’s rights. “What they did is incredible in terms of human rights and everything else,” Trump said.

However, after the meeting, Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan Elatra Khashoggi, said in a post on Twitter that “there is no justification for murdering my husband” and urged the Saudi crown prince to “meet me, apologize and compensate me.”

F-35 jet sales and defense cooperation

Even before MBS’s visit to Washington, Trump had confirmed that he would authorize the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. And during the meeting with MBS, Trump said the jets would not be downgraded to ensure Israel’s military superiority in the region, a departure from the US policy known as “qualitative military edge.”

He told the Saudi Crown Prince, “They want you to get a lower capacity aircraft. I don’t think you’ll be very happy with that.” “They’ve been a great ally. Israel has been a great ally, and we’re considering it right now. But as far as I’m concerned, I think they’re both at the level where they should be at the top.”

In addition to the jet sale, Trump also said the US and Saudi Arabia have “substantially reached an agreement” on a defense deal. Details of the talks are unclear, but Riyadh is seeking a mutual defense pact with Washington similar to NATO’s Article Five, under which the US would come to its aid if the state is attacked.

Movement on Saudi-Israel relations

Recently, Trump has been quite vocal that he would like Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, which established formal relations between Israel and several Arab countries. And in a White House meeting, Prince Mohammed and Trump hinted at possible progress on the issue without providing details or a timeline for a potential deal.

However, the Crown Prince reiterated that Riyadh wants to pursue the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of a potential settlement.

“We believe it is a good thing to have good relations with all Middle Eastern countries and we want to be part of the Abraham Accords,” Prince Mohammed told reporters.

“But we also want to make sure we secure a clear path [to a] Two-state solution. And today we had a healthy discussion with Mr. President that we have to work on this, to make sure that we create the right conditions for this as soon as possible.”

Saudi’s investment worth trillions of dollars

Prince Mohammed also told Trump that his country would increase its financial commitments to the United States to $1 trillion from $600 billion, which was announced during the president’s visit to Riyadh in May.

Details of those deals were not immediately clear, but are expected to include investments in various US businesses, including those in artificial intelligence as well as purchases of jet engines and other equipment.

The crown prince echoed Trump’s assessment that the US is now the “hottest country” in the world, adding that the kingdom wants to be part of the “foundation of emerging technologies” in the US.

with inputs from agencies