The Latest: Trump is heading to Saudi Arabia on the first leg of his Mideast trip

President Donald Trump was heading to Saudi Arabia connected Tuesday, the archetypal limb of his three-nation visit to the Middle East this week meant to tackle aggregate crises and conflicts crossed the region.

His archetypal halt is simply a sojourn to Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The 2 are to clasp talks connected U.S. efforts to dismantle Iran’s atomic program, extremity the warfare successful Gaza, clasp down lipid prices and more.

The crown prince is besides expected to fete Trump with a ceremonial meal and a gathering of members of the Gulf Cooperation Council — made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — aboriginal connected Tuesday.

Here's the Latest:

Saudi Arabia prepares for Trump’s arrival

American and Saudi flags are lining the streets successful Saudi Arabia’s superior up of Trump's arrival, on with a noticeable information beingness successful Riyadh of each American-made constabulary cars.

At a “Media Oasis” acceptable up for journalists, elephantine video screens showed disconnected Saudi operation projects similar its futuristic NEOM metropolis and its hosting of the 2034 FIFA World Cup. A mobile McDonald’s sat successful the parking lot, inactive shuttered.

Prince Turki al-Faisal, who led Saudi quality for much than 2 decades and served arsenic ambassador to the U.S. and Britain, wrote successful the English-language Arab News paper to Trump that “our doors and hearts are unfastened to you.”

Tightly controlled Saudi media expresses anticipation for Trump visit

Saudi Arabia’s tightly controlled media offered affirmative comments regarding Trump’s visit. Columnists successful the kingdom sought to picture the sojourn arsenic portion of a strategical reset successful American-Saudi relations, which day backmost to erstwhile then-President Franklin Roosevelt met King Saud aboard the USS Quincy successful 1945.

“Many countries astir the world, including successful Europe, are pursuing Saudi Arabia’s pb successful managing their affairs with Trump,” wrote Abdulrahman al-Rashed successful Asharq Al-Awsat. “The epoch of relying solely connected governmental and subject alliances with Washington is over; the absorption present is connected forging shared interests.”

Faisal J. Abbas of the English-language Arab News wrote that “the value of the sojourn cannot beryllium overstated — nor could its timing beryllium much crucia,” fixed Saudi Arabia’s mediation successful the Russia-Ukraine warfare and the caller struggle betwixt India and Pakistan.

He besides acknowledged concern deals would beryllium portion of the travel arsenic well.

“Putting America archetypal does not mean ignoring opportunities abroad; it means seizing them,” Abbas added.

Trump travel to Saudi Arabia comes arsenic lipid trades astir $64 a barrel

Trump’s travel to Saudi Arabia comes arsenic the president tin already constituent to 1 happening for American voters — lipid prices are down.

It’s not Trump’s doing, though he’s repeatedly criticized Saudi Arabia and the OPEC+ lipid cartel implicit higher lipid prices successful the past. Those prices construe straight backmost into gasoline prices successful the United States, which tin go a large symptom constituent for the U.S. public. The mean terms for a gallon of gasoline successful the U.S. is $3.13, according to AAA, down from $3.61 a twelvemonth ago.

Right now, benchmark Brent crude trades astir $64 a barrel. That’s higher than erstwhile the astir $50 a tube it traded connected his archetypal travel to the kingdom arsenic president successful 2017. However, it’s obscurity adjacent the spikes seen aft Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful 2022. Then, the mean gallon of state successful the U.S. was $5.01 astatine its height.

Economic uncertainty implicit Trump’s tariff argumentation has depressed planetary vigor prices — arsenic has OPEC much rapidly opening up accumulation than initially thought. Saudi Arabia successful peculiar needs that other gross arsenic the crow prince's expansive improvement plans and the kingdom hosting the upcoming 2034 FIFA World Cup volition request hundreds of billions of dollars of investments.

Trump starts Middle East travel with challenges and certainty

Trump had intended to absorption connected pressing affluent Gulf Arab nations during the Mideast travel to determination billions successful caller concern into the United States.

But Trump finds himself navigating a bid of geopolitical crises — and searching for glimmers of anticipation successful the heavy good of planetary turmoil.

Those challenges are casting greater import connected his archetypal extended overseas travel of his 2nd term, but the president is brimming with an overabundance of assurance astir immoderate of the world’s astir intractable problems.

▶ Read much astir Trump’s three-nation visit

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.