Trump gives Saudi speech urging Iran towards a ‘new and a better path'
'As I have shown repeatedly, I am willing to end past conflicts and forge new partnerships for a better and more stable world, even if our differences may be profound,' he said.
He kicked off his trip on Tuesday with his visit to the Saudi capital Riyadh. The latest entreaty to Tehran comes days after he dispatched special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Iranian officials for a fourth round of talks aimed at persuading Tehran to abandon its nuclear programme.
'As president of the United States, my preference will always be for peace and partnership, whenever those outcomes can be achieved,' Mr Trump said.
He also said he hopes Saudi Arabia will soon join the Abraham Accords and recognise Israel 'in your own time'.
Saudi Arabia long has maintained that recognition of Israel is tied to the establishment of a Palestinian state along the lines of Israel's 1967 borders.
Under the Biden administration, there was a push for Saudi Arabia to recognise Israel as part of a major diplomatic deal, but the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 2023 upended those plans and sent the region into one of the worst period it has faced.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes Donald Trump to Riyadh (Alex Brandon/AP)
Mr Trump also signed a host of economic and bilateral co-operation agreements with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi de facto ruler, warmly greeted him as he stepped off Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport. The two leaders then retreated to a grand hall at Riyadh airport, where Mr Trump and his aides were served traditional Arabic coffee by waiting attendants wearing ceremonial gun belts.
'I really believe we like each other a lot,' Mr Trump said later during a brief appearance with the crown prince at the start of a bilateral meeting.
They later signed more than a dozen agreements to increase co-operation between their governments' militaries, justice departments and cultural institutions.
Prince Mohammed has already committed to 600 billion dollars (£450 billion) in new Saudi investment in the US, but Mr Trump said a trillion dollars (£750 billion) would be even better.
Donald Trump and Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Royal Palace (Alex Brandon/AP)
The pomp began before Mr Trump even landed, as Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s provided an honorary escort for Air Force One as it approached the kingdom's capital.
Mr Trump and Prince Mohammed also took part in a formal greeting and lunch at the Royal Court at Al Yamamah Palace, gathering with guests and aides in an ornate room with blue and gold accents and massive crystal chandeliers.
The prince rubbed elbows with high-profile business executives including Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink and Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk.
Saudi Arabia and fellow Opec+ nations have already helped their cause with Mr Trump early in his second term by stepping up oil production. He sees cheap energy as a key component to lowering costs and stemming inflation for Americans. The Republican president has also made the case that lower oil prices will hasten an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
The three countries on Trump's itinerary — Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — are places where the Trump Organisation, run by Mr Trump's two oldest sons, is developing major property projects. They include a high-rise tower in Jeddah, a luxury hotel in Dubai and a golf course and villa complex in Qatar.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Republican senator calls Jay Powell ‘the Fauci of the financial system'
Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno has attacked U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell by calling him the 'Fauci of the financial system.' President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell, whom he appointed to lead the central bank during his first term, for refusing to cut interest rates, regularly rebuking him over the issue on Truth Social and floating the idea of firing him. The two men met in person on Thursday as Trump toured the building renovations ongoing at the Fed, griping about the inflated cost of the project and claiming it looked like it had cost $3.1 billion, not $2.7 billion, which was denied by Powell in a testy exchange. Moreno, a former car salesman who unseated Democrat Sherrod Brown last year, was interviewed by Kaitlan Collins on CNN shortly afterwards, who asked him whether Trump was jeopardising the traditional independence of the Fed through his repeated attacks on Powell and whether he felt its distance from the executive was still important. 'Oh, of course,' the MAGA senator answered. 'And we're not talking about that. What we're talking about is, is this guy competent? Launching into his own attack on Powell, Moreno said: 'The reason it's now in our consciousness about this renovation is because we had him in front of our Banking Committee hearing, and he lied. He said the building did not have a VIP elevator and dining rooms and beehives and waterfalls. All that is just objectively not true. 'So again, either he lied before our banking committee, which, by the way, is a felony, or he's just grossly incompetent. I fall more in the second one, given his track record, losing hundreds of billions of dollars, not managing the U.S. economy properly. 'Also, by the way, in that same hearing, he says it's a good idea to forgive student debt. Imagine the head of the Federal Reserve, our central bank, telling our policymakers that we should forgive debt. That's insanity. So this is a guy who's hyper-partisan. And as a result of his hyper-partisanship, he's costing the country hundreds of billions of dollars.' Asked by Collins why Trump himself had nominated Powell if he is such a problematic candidate for the role, Moreno was dismissive: 'Look, I've employed 1,100 people in my life. Out of 1,100 people, I made some bad hires. You recover quickly.' He went on to speculate that Trump had 'got some bad advice from somebody' and said Powell's refusal to leave office voluntarily was 'the height of arrogance and ego' and that he found the chairman's position 'pretty shocking.' Pressed by Collins on whether he thought the president should go ahead and fire Powell, Moreno answered: 'I believe he should leave. It would just be a lot easier if he just said, 'Hey, I resigned.' It would make the country better. It would make the Federal Reserve better. 'The president certainly, in my opinion, has all the right to do it. In a Supreme Court case called Humphrey's, you can look it up, there's a term called inefficiency, which basically means incompetence. And if that standard doesn't apply to Jay Powell, it doesn't apply to anybody. 'He's the Anthony Fauci of the financial system in this country,' the senator concluded, alluding to the veteran medical administrator who guided the U.S. through the Covid-19 pandemic only to become a hate figure to conspiracy-minded conservatives. It was left to Collins to point out that Trump 'also kept Anthony Fauci on and gave him a medal.'
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Jay Slater inquest gives verdict on cause of teenager's death in Tenerife
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference.
Reuters
6 minutes ago
- Reuters
Palestinian statehood, Skydance-Paramount and Trump at the Fed
Follow on Apple or Spotify. Listen on the Reuters app. Israel and the United States recall their delegations from Gaza ceasefire talks as France announces its plan to recognize a Palestinian state. The FCC approves the merger between entertainment giants Paramount Global and Skydance Media. President Trump spars with Jerome Powell in a rare visit to the Federal Reserve. And Thailand and Cambodia exchange heavy fire as fighting on their joint border continues for a second day. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit to opt out of targeted advertising. Further Reading Israel and US recall teams from Gaza truce talks, US says Hamas not showing good faith French plan to recognise Palestinian state draws fire from Israel, US US clears way for $8 billion Paramount-Skydance merger Trump presses Powell to cut rates during tense visit to Fed Thailand, Cambodia exchange heavy artillery as fighting expands for second day US Justice Department official to meet Epstein associate Maxwell again on Friday Trump travels to Scotland for golf and bilateral talks amid Epstein furor Recommended Read: Nvidia AI chips: repair demand booms in China for banned products
