Overview
- Trump confirmed plans to approve a Saudi purchase of F-35 stealth fighters on the eve of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's White House meetings.
- Any deal remains at an early stage with no signed contract, unresolved specifics on variant and quantity, and required Pentagon and State Department reviews plus formal congressional notification.
- A sale would make Saudi Arabia the first Arab state and the only country in the region besides Israel to field the F-35, raising qualitative military edge considerations for Jerusalem.
- U.S. officials view the prospective sale as leverage in talks on Saudi‑Israeli normalization, while reports say Israel could accept the transfer if tied to normalization and Riyadh maintains that progress toward a Palestinian state is essential.
- The visit includes a U.S.-Saudi investment forum with top American CEOs, and discussions are expected on a U.S. security assurance for the kingdom and a framework for civilian nuclear cooperation.