U.S. President Donald Trump will host Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Tuesday, marking the Saudi leader’s first visit to the United States since the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The meeting is expected to accelerate discussions on a major F-35 fighter jet sale and advance a raft of commercial agreements with the kingdom, according to U.S. officials.
The renewed engagement signals how far the relationship has rebounded after the global backlash that followed Khashoggi’s death, which U.S. intelligence agencies concluded was approved by the crown prince. Mohammed bin Salman has denied ordering the killing but acknowledged responsibility given his position at the top of the Saudi state.
The crown prince, widely known as MBS, will take part in a full day of White House diplomacy, including Oval Office talks, a Cabinet Room lunch, and a formal black-tie dinner.
Trump aims to secure progress on a $600 billion Saudi investment pledge first announced during his visit to Riyadh in 2017. A senior White House official told Reuters that the administration expects new agreements spanning manufacturing, technology, defense, and energy.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said the United States “will be selling” F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia, confirming Riyadh’s request for 48 of the advanced aircraft.
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If approved, this would be the first U.S. sale of the F-35 to Saudi Arabia, a significant departure from longstanding policy that has restricted the jets to Israel in order to maintain what Washington calls Israel’s “qualitative military edge.”
The potential deal comes as the crown prince seeks broader security guarantees from Washington, greater access to high-end technology, and movement on a civilian nuclear cooperation pact.
The Biden administration had emphasized that deepening ties with Riyadh could help keep Saudi Arabia from strengthening strategic alignment with China. Dennis Ross, a former U.S. diplomatic negotiator now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said Trump wants a broad partnership that cements Riyadh’s reliance on Washington.
“President Trump believes these steps bind the Saudis increasingly to us on a range of issues … and not China,” Ross said.
Trump is also expected to press the crown prince to join the Abraham Accords, which established open ties between Israel and several Arab states in 2020. Recent entrants include Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Sudan, and, more recently, Kazakhstan.
A senior White House official said Trump sees Saudi participation as essential to completing the regional peace framework. “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 official said.
Saudi Arabia has maintained that it cannot fully normalise relations with Israel without meaningful movement toward Palestinian statehood, a goal overshadowed by the Gaza conflict.
The White House is expected to outline next steps after Tuesday’s talks, as Washington and Riyadh move toward a long-sought security agreement that could reshape their partnership for years ahead.
