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Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Key Moments From Trump's Whirlwind Tour of the Middle East
President Trump meets officials at the Amiri Diwan in Doha, Qatar, on May 14, 2025. Credit - Win McNamee—Getty Images President Donald Trump has wrapped up his three-country tour of the Middle East, during which significant moves were made to transform the United States' relationship with the region. The President solidified investment agreements, conducted the first meeting between U.S. and Syrian Presidents in 25 years, hinted at the potential for a nuclear deal with Iran, and much more. Trump kickstarted his visit on Tuesday, May 13, when he landed in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, and was greeted by luxury at the Royal Saudi Palace. He signed deals and agreements worth billions of dollars, covering a number of industries. Qatar was Trump's next stop. He landed in the capital city of Doha on Wednesday, May 14. Another flurry of agreements were made—including a $96 billion Boeing deal—followed by a roundtable with business leaders, where Trump resurfaced his idea of a U.S. takeover of the Gaza strip. Trump arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, May 15, for the final leg of his tour, during which he signed an agreement on AI worth around $1.4 on his trip, Trump lamented that future Presidents may well take credit for what he has achieved. 'Somebody's going to be taking the credit for this. You remember, press, this guy did it,' Trump told reporters during the flight home on Air Force One. As Trump returns to Washington, D.C., here's a look back at the key moments from his whirlwind tour of the Middle East: Trump's trip started off with a glitzy welcome from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The President was joined by Tesla CEO and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) lead Elon Musk, as well as other important U.S. business figures including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. In Riyadh, Trump announced that the U.S. had agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion. The two leaders also signed agreements on security and intelligence cooperation, technology, and energy. The White House has said that Saudi investments signed during Trump's visit are worth a total of $600 billion. In an unexpected announcement during a U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum on Tuesday, May 13, Trump said he plans to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria, some of which have been in place for over 45 years. Trump called the sanctions 'brutal and crippling,' but noted their necessity before the collapse of the Bashar Assad regime in December 2024. Trump said that now, in this new era, it's time for Syria to 'shine.' Many experts, including Benjamin Feve, a senior research analyst at Karam Shaar Advisory, have said that Trump's plan to list the sanctions may not be straightforward. 'He [Trump] cannot just declare it, you have to go through a specific process which involves barriers in the Administration. You have the Secretary of State, the Treasury, Congress,' Feve tells TIME. 'They have to be re-thought, redesigned in order to continue who they will be imposed upon.' The collapse of the Assad regime in December occurred when Ahmed al-Sharaa's group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led a rebel coalition. Assad fled Syria with his family and sought asylum in Russia. HTS has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, and al-Sharaa had a $10 million reward for his arrest placed on him by the U.S. government, before it was lifted in December. On Wednesday, May 14, Trump and al-Sharaa met in Riyadh. They were accompanied by the Saudi Crown Prince, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined remotely via telephone. Talking to reporters afterwards on Air Force One, Trump described the Syrian leader, a former militant, as a "young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter… He's got a real shot at holding it together.' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later revealed that Trump had urged al-Sharaa to normalise ties with Israel, clamp down on terrorism in Syria, and work with the U.S. to stop any resurgence of ISIS. Read More: Trump Meets With Syria's President After Announcing Plans to Lift U.S. Sanctions on Country Trump's plan to accept a luxury Boeing from Qatar had caused controversy before the President left for his tour of the Gulf. Valued at roughly $400 million, the gifted plane—and the potential of Trump going through with accepting it—has raised ethical, legal, and security concerns.'He's going to turn Air Force One into Bribe Force One,' Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts told TIME. 'Congress has to be involved with such a clear threat to our national security.' Republicans, such as Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, also raised concerns. Read More: Trump Doubles Down on Plan to Receive Qatar's Plane Gift: 'Only a Fool Would Not Accept This' But the President has doubled down on his intentions to accept the plane, which he says will be used as a temporary Air Force One while two more jets are still in production to replace current models. In a May 14 post on his social media platform, TruthSocial, Trump said: 'The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME! It is a gift from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years… 'Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our country.' He also defended his stance during an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity on Air Force One. Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani gave his take on the gift controversy during an interview with CNN. 'It's still under legal review. I don't know why it became so big as news… We have done a lot together with the U.S.,' he said, adding that it was just a case of 'very simple government-to-government dealing.' When asked whether this was an instance of 'buying influence' with the U.S., the Qatari leader said: 'Why would we buy influence in the United States? If you look at the last 10 years of the U.S.-Qatar relationship, Qatar has always been there for the U.S. when it's needed... We believe this friendship needs to be mutually-beneficial for both countries. It cannot be a one-way relationship.' A notable absence from Trump's list of stops during his Middle East tour was Israel, but the ongoing Israel-Hamas war has still been a central point of discussion for the President. Trump expressed hope for the 'safety and dignity' for Palestinians in Gaza during a Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Riyadh on Wednesday. The next morning, at a roundtable discussion with business leaders in Doha, Trump once again raised his idea for a U.S. takeover of Gaza. It's an idea that has been previously condemned by many world leaders, as it would likely involve the displacement of the entire Palestinian population. 'I think I'd be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone,' Trump said. 'They've never solved the Gaza problem and if you look at it, I have aerial shots, I mean there's practically no building standing, there's no building. People are living under the rubble of buildings that collapsed, which is not acceptable, it's tremendous death. And I want to see that be a freedom zone.' Trump's remarks came amid another series of airstrikes on Gaza. Israel has previously announced plans to expand military occupation over the entire Gaza Strip indefinitely. Read More: Trump Suggests U.S. Should 'Take' Gaza and Turn It Into a 'Freedom Zone' The President's trip to the Gulf also involved discussions on Iran and the potential progress of a deal with the country. In his first term, Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal the Obama Administration had secured with Iran after years of negotiations. 'I want to make a deal,' Trump said Wednesday during the GCC Summit. He stipulated that a deal would be dependent on Iran halting its support for terrorism and fueling proxy wars in the region, as well as the country not having nuclear weapons. In an interview with NBC on Wednesday, Ali Shamkhani—a key political, military and nuclear adviser to the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—said that the country is ready to sign a nuclear deal with the U.S., subject to conditions. Shamkhani said that if a deal were to take place, Iran would not make nuclear weapons, would reduce stockpiles of enriched uranium to a level only needed for civilian use, and would allow international inspectors to supervise the process. In return, all economic sanctions on Iran would need to be lifted. Shamkhani said that if those conditions were met, Iran would sign an agreement on the day. During Thursday's roundtable in Doha, Trump said that talks between Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, and Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Affairs Minister, were progressing as 'very serious negotiations.' However, Araghchi later said that enriching uranium was a core right for Iran and it was a red line regarding negotiations. On Friday, after departing the UAE, his final stop of the tour, Trump said that Iran had received a proposal from the U.S. regarding the nuclear programme. Talking to reporters on Air Force One, he said: 'They have a proposal, but more importantly, they know that they have to move quickly, or something bad, something bad's gonna happen.' Contact us at letters@
CNBC
16-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Aramco says it has U.S. tie-ups worth up to $90 billion amid Trump Gulf tour
Saudi Aramco said on Wednesday it had signed 34 preliminary deals with major U.S. companies, potentially worth up to $90 billion in a push to deepen commercial ties with the United States on the back of President Donald Trump's visit to the kingdom. The announcement was made a day after Riyadh pledged $600 billion in U.S. investments. Still, most tie-ups listed by the state oil giant were memorandums of understanding without a value attached. Some deals have also been previously announced, such as the agreement to buy 1.2 million tons of LNG per year for a 20-year term from NextDecade. The agreements underscore Saudi Arabia's efforts to strengthen its energy partnerships and attract foreign investment as it looks to balance oil dominance with broader industrial and technological growth under Vision 2030. "The U.S. is really a good place to put our investment," Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said on Tuesday at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Riyadh. The forum coincided with Trump's four-day tour of the Gulf, marked by lavish receptions and a series of business deals, including $142 billion in arms agreements. Aramco is the economic backbone of Saudi Arabia, generating a bulk of the kingdom's revenue through oil exports and funding its ambitious Vision 2030 diversification drive. Its shares have fallen almost 9% this year. The company said the agreements, struck through its Aramco Group Companies, aim to build on its longstanding ties with U.S. companies, enhance shareholder value, and expand collaboration in energy and other strategic sectors. A memorandum of understanding with tech heavyweight Nvidia aims to establish advanced industrial AI infrastructure, including an AI Hub, an engineering and robotics center, and workforce training programs. Aramco also signed an MoU with ExxonMobil to evaluate a significant upgrade to their SAMREF refinery, with plans to expand it into an integrated petrochemical complex. It also inked a non-binding agreement with Amazon Web Services to collaborate on digital transformation and lower-carbon initiatives, while an MoU with Qualcomm focuses on collaboration in enhancing industrial networks and AI capabilities. "Our U.S.-related activities have evolved over the decades, and now include multi-disciplinary R&D, the Motiva refinery in Port Arthur, start-up investments, potential collaborations in LNG, and ongoing procurement," Nasser said in a statement. Aramco said on Tuesday it would invest $3.4 billion to expand the Motiva refinery in Texas. Beyond energy, the state oil giant has become a key vehicle for industrial development, digital transformation, and foreign investment. It expanded existing relationships with several high-profile U.S. suppliers including SLB, Baker Hughes, GE Vernova and Honeywell. On the financial services front, it has forged agreements with asset management giants PIMCO, State Street Corporation and Wellington. It also signed a deal for short-term cash investments through a unified investment fund, named 'Fund of One', with financial heavyweights BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and PIMCO.
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Talks with Pakistan will be ‘strictly bilateral': Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday (May 15, 2025) reiterated that India's conversation with Pakistan would be conducted in a 'strictly bilateral' format. Speaking to the media after the launch of the new embassy of Honduras in New Delhi, Mr. Jaishankar referred to the 'national consensus' on conducting dialogue with Pakistan saying there had been 'absolutely' no change in that consensus. The remarks from Mr. Jaishankar came as U.S. President Donald Trump once again spoke about the role that he played in bringing the latest India-Pakistan conflict to a pause on May 10. Follow India-Pakistan ceasefire updates on May 15 'To me things are fairly clear. Let me take this opportunity to spell out our position. Where Pakistan is concerned, our – relations – dealings with them will be bilateral and strictly bilateral – that is a national consensus for many years and there is absolutely no change in that consensus that dealings with Pakistan will be bilateral,' the Minister told the media. He clarified that talks with Pakistan would be on India's concerns about Pakistan-based terror outfits. 'The Prime Minister made it very clear that the only talk with Pakistan will be on terror. Pakistan has a list of terrorists who need to be handed over. They have to shut down the terrorist infrastructure. They know what to do. We are prepared to discuss with them what needs to be done on terrorism,' said Mr. Jaishankar arguing, 'Those are the talks that are feasible.' The Minister's emphatic remarks on the 'bilateral framework' regarding Pakistan came even as President Trump, who is on a three-nation tour in the Gulf, referred to his reported role in bringing Operation Sindoor to a pause. 'I sure as hell helped settle the problem between Pakistan and India last week which was getting more and more hostile and all of a sudden, we started seeing missiles of a different type and we got it settled,' Mr. Trump said addressing U.S. troops stationed at the Al-Udaid airbase in Qatar. '… I think it is settled and we talk to them about trade. Let's do trade instead of the war. Pakistan was happy with that, and Hindu [India] was happy with that,' said Mr. Trump during the same speech. The U.S. President had announced the cessation of firing and military hostilities shortly before Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Mr. Jaishankar had formally announced the same on May 10. He has ever since been repeating the role that he and his officials — Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice-President J.D. Vance — have played in bringing the escalating conflict between India and Pakistan to a pause. Before his latest assertion at the Al Udaid airbase, Mr. Trump had mentioned the same in the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Riyadh on May 13. 'Just days ago, my administration successfully brokered a historic ceasefire to stop the escalating violence between India and Pakistan and I used trade to a large extent to do it… It all stopped. Hopefully, it will remain that way,' said President Trump. 'We have come a long way. Millions of people could have died from that conflict that started off as small and was getting bigger and bigger by the day,' said Mr. Trump in Riyadh on Tuesday. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had on Tuesday mentioned that the telephone conversation between Indian and U.S. leadership did not refer to trade. 'From the time Operation Sindoor commenced on May 7 till the understanding on cessation of firing and military action on May 10, there were conversations between Indian and U.S. leaders on the evolving military situation. The issue of trade did not come up in any of these discussions,' Mr. Jaiswal said, emphasising the bilateral framework that Mr. Jaishankar reiterated on Thursday.
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
These Stocks Are The Biggest Winners From Trump's Middle East Trip
Major U.S. stocks like Nvidia, Alphabet and Amazon rose amid President Donald Trump's four-day trip to the Middle East, which ends Thursday after he announced deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars that lifted the defense, aviation and AI industries—though a broader market selloff appeared to reverse some gains on Thursday. Trump has announced deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars during a four-day trip to the Middle ... More East. Super Micro Computers: The information tech firm saw its shares rise by nearly 30.6% through the last two trading sessions after reaching a $20 billion partnership with Saudi Arabian data center DataVolt on Tuesday, though Super Micro's stock dropped by nearly 4% on Thursday. Nvidia: Shares of Nvidia, which fell slightly (0.7%) on Thursday, increased by roughly 11% through Tuesday and Wednesday after announcing a deal to supply 18,000 AI chips to Saudi-backed Humain. AMD: The semiconductor firm's stock dipped by nearly 2% on Thursday after jumping by 7.4% over the last two days after revealing on Tuesday a $10 billion project with Saudi Arabia to supply chips and software for AI data centers. Palantir: As one of the U.S.-based companies to attend the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum this week, Palantir's shares rose by roughly 10% over the last two trading sessions before falling by 1.4% on Thursday. Boeing: The aircraft maker achieved a 52-week high on Wednesday after announcing a $96 billion deal to supply 210 jets for Qatar Airways, and Boeing's shares rose again on Thursday by nearly 1.4%. Alphabet: Google's parent company joined Oracle, Salesforce and AMD, among others, in a $80 billion investment to develop 'cutting-edge transformative technologies' in Saudi Arabia and the U.S., the White House said Tuesday, as its shares rose by 3.5% on Wednesday before dipping slightly Thursday. Amazon: Shares of Amazon rose by 1.3% on Tuesday after the company announced a $5 billion partnership to develop an 'AI Zone' in Saudi Arabia, though the stock's positive movement was reversed after it dropped by 0.5% on Wednesday and nearly 3% early Thursday. Tesla: CEO Elon Musk was among the billionaires to join Trump in the Middle East, a move that appeared to shift Tesla's stock up by 8.6% over the last two trading sessions, before the automaker's shares fell by more than 2% on Thursday. The three market indexes fell Thursday morning as the S&P 500, down 0.2%, is on track to have its three-day winning streak end. The Nasdaq lost 0.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 119 points, or 0.2%, as Walmart's shares fell by 3% after the company warned of higher prices in response to tariffs, while UnitedHealth's shares plummeted 17%. Thursday's broad stock decline was likely the result of 'cautious optimism' as recession fears recede, with some confidence added after the U.S. and China reached a trade deal earlier this week, investors told CNBC. Trump and many major U.S.-based companies announced several deals for projects in defense, aviation, AI and other industries since he arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. The White House said Saudi Arabia had agreed to invest $600 billion in the U.S., though some investments were already in the works, with additional deals worth more than $300 billion signed at an investor conference attended by several U.S. billionaires, including Elon Musk, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Palantir's Alex Karp, among others. Trump's visit has largely focused on economic investments in the U.S. rather than geopolitical strategy, though Trump said Thursday Iran had 'sort of agreed to the terms' of a deal with the U.S. to scale back nuclear weapons production. Boeing, Tesla, Nvidia And Other Stocks Surge Amid U.S.-Saudi Dealmaking Spree (Forbes) Trump, U.S. Businesses Ink Billions In Deals In Middle East: See The List (Forbes)
USA Today
15-05-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Trump says he's close to a nuclear deal with Iran
Trump says he's close to a nuclear deal with Iran "We're in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace," Trump said on a tour of the Persian Gulf region. Show Caption Hide Caption Trump says he will end US sanctions on Syria President Donald Trump pledged during a U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Riyadh to end sanctions against Syria. Trump said he wanted to avoid military action over Iran's nuclear program. "There is a very, very nice step and there is the violent step, but I don't want to do it the second way," he said. The U.S. and Iran have had four rounds of negotiations. Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, told NBC News that Tehran would commit to never making nuclear weapons and getting rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium. DUBAI − President Donald Trump said the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had "sort of" agreed to the terms. "We're in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace," Trump said May 15 during a tour of the Gulf, according to a pool report. "We're getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this... there (are) two steps to doing this, there is a very, very nice step and there is the violent step, but I don't want to do it the second way," he said. More: 'Perfecto': Wealthy Gulf rulers bring A-game to Trump charm offensive An Iranian source familiar with the negotiations said there were still gaps to bridge in the talks with the United States. Oil prices fell by about $2 on expectations for a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal that could result in sanctions easing. More: 'Constructive' and 'positive': What to know about the rare US-Iran nuclear talks Talks between Iranian and U.S. negotiators to resolve disputes over Tehran's nuclear program ended in Oman on May 11 with further negotiations planned, officials said, as Tehran publicly insisted on continuing its uranium enrichment. The Trump administration gave Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal during the fourth round of negotiations, a U.S. official and two other sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Axios. More: Fighter jets, chandeliers, a Cybertruck: See the pomp of Trump's Middle East visit Though Tehran and Washington have both said they prefer diplomacy to resolve the decades-long nuclear dispute, they remain divided on several red lines that negotiators will have to circumvent to reach a new deal and avert future military action. Iran's president reacted to Trump's comments on May 13 in which he called Tehran the 'most destructive force' in the Middle East. 'Trump thinks he can sanction and threaten us and then talk of human rights. All the crimes and regional instability is caused by them (the United States),' Masoud Pezeshkian said. 'He wants to create instability inside Iran.' More: Trump denies talking golf, real estate in Saudi meetings However, in an interview with NBC News published on May 14, an Iranian official said Iran was willing to agree to a deal with the U.S. in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran would commit to never making nuclear weapons and getting rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, agree to enrich uranium only to the lower levels needed for civilian use and allow international inspectors to supervise the process, NBC reported. Iran's nuclear 'red line' U.S. officials have publicly stated that Iran should halt uranium enrichment, a stance Iranian officials have called a "red line" asserting they will not give up what they view as their right to enrich uranium on Iranian soil. However, they have indicated a willingness to reduce the level of enrichment. Iranian officials have also expressed readiness to reduce the amount of highly enriched uranium in storage—uranium enriched beyond the levels typically needed for civilian purposes, such as nuclear power generation. Sanctions relief? But they have said it would not accept lower stockpiles than the amount agreed in a deal with world powers in 2015 - the deal Trump quit. The Iranian source said that while Iran is prepared to offer what it considers concessions, "the issue is that America is not willing to lift major sanctions in exchange." Western sanctions have severely impacted the Iranian economy. Regarding the reduction of enriched uranium in storage, the source noted: 'Tehran also wants it removed in several stages, which America doesn't agree with either.' There is also disagreement over the destination to which the highly enriched uranium would be sent, the source added.
