WASHINGTON(National times)- President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed U.S. intelligence findings that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman likely had some culpability in the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi as Trump warmly welcomed the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia on his first White House visit in seven years. The U.S.-Saudi relationship had, for a time, been sent into a tailspin by the operation targeting Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the kingdom. But seven years later, the dark clouds over the relationship have been cleared away. And Trump is tightening his embrace of the 40-year-old crown prince, who he said is an indispensable player in shaping the Middle East in the decades to come. Trump in his defense of the crown prince derided Khashoggi as \u201cextremely controversial\u201d and said \u201ca lot of people didn\u2019t like that gentleman.\u201d Prince Mohammed denies involvement in the killing of Khashoggi, who was a Saudi citizen and Virginia resident. \u201cWhether you like him or didn\u2019t like him, things happen,\u201d Trump said when asked about the killing by a reporter during an Oval Office appearance with Prince Mohammed. \u201cBut (Prince Mohammed) knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that. You don\u2019t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.\u201d But U.S. intelligence officials determined that the Saudi crown prince likely approved the killing by Saudi agents of U.S.-based journalist inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul , according to U.S. findings declassified in 2021 at the start of the Biden administration. Trump officials, during his first administration, refused to release the report. Prince Mohammed said Saudi Arabia \u201cdid all the right steps\u201d to investigate Khashoggi\u2019s death. \u201cIt\u2019s painful and it\u2019s a huge mistake,\u201d he said. Trump, who said the two leaders have become \u201cgood friends,\u201d even commended the Saudi leader for strides made by the kingdom on human rights without providing any specific detail. The crown prince for his part announced Saudi Arabia was increasing its planned investments in the U.S. to $1 trillion, up from $600 billion that the Saudis announced they would pour into the United States when Trump visited the kingdom in May. Echoing rhetoric that Trump likes to use, the crown prince called the U.S. the \u201chottest country on the planet\u201d for foreign investment. \u201cWhat you\u2019re creating is not about an opportunity today. It\u2019s also about long-term opportunity,\u201d Prince Mohammed said. Trump\u2019s family has a strong personal interest in the kingdom. In September, London real estate developer Dar Global announced that it plans to launch Trump Plaza in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. It\u2019s Dar Global\u2019s second collaboration with the Trump Organization, the collection of companies controlled by the U.S. president\u2019s children, in Saudi Arabia. Trump pushed back on suggestions that there could be a conflict of interest in his family\u2019s dealings with the Saudis. \u201cI have nothing to do with the family business,\u201d Trump said. Trump\u2019s comments about Khashoggi\u2019s killing and defense of his family\u2019s business in Saudi Arabia were blasted by human rights and government oversight activists. Human rights groups say Saudi authorities continue to harshly repress dissent, including by arresting human rights defenders, journalists and political dissidents for criticism against the kingdom. They also note a surge in executions in Saudi Arabia that they connect to an effort to suppress internal dissent. \u201cPresident Trump has Jamal Khashoggi\u2019s blood on his hands,\u201d said Raed Jarrar, advocacy director for DAWN, a U.S.-based group advocating for democracy and human rights in the Arab world that was founded by Khashoggi. Trump warmly received Prince Mohammed when he arrived at the White House Tuesday morning for a pomp-filled arrival ceremony that included a military flyover and a thundering greeting from the U.S. Marine band. Technically, it wasn\u2019t a state visit, because the crown prince is not the head of state. But Prince Mohammed has taken charge of the day-to-day governing for his father, King Salman, 89, who has endured health problems in recent years. Later, Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcomed the crown prince for a black-tie dinner in the White House East Room. The boldface names who attended included Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. Trump at the dinner announced he was designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally. The designation, while largely symbolic, provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense, trade and security cooperation. The president also announced that the two leaders had signed a new defense agreement, but the White House did not immediately release details of the pact. Ahead of the visit, the Saudis had signaled they were looking for formal assurances from Trump defining the scope of the U.S. military protection for the kingdom. \u201cA stronger and more capable alliance will advance the interests of both countries,\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd it will serve the highest interest of peace.\u201d On the eve of Prince Mohammed\u2019s arrival, Trump announced he had agreed to sell the Saudis F-35 fighter jets despite some concerns within the administration that the sale could lead to China gaining access to the U.S. technology behind the advanced weapon system. The White House announced the two leaders formalized the F-35 agreement Tuesday as well as a deal for the Saudis to purchase nearly 300 tanks from the U.S. They also signed agreements signifying closer cooperation on capital markets and critical minerals markets, as well as efforts against money laundering and terrorist financing. Trump\u2019s announcement on the fighter jets was surprising because some in the Republican administration have been wary about upsetting Israel\u2019s qualitative military edge over its neighbors, especially at a time when Trump is depending on Israeli support for the success of his Gaza peace plan. The visit comes at a moment when Trump is trying to nudge the Saudis toward normalizing relations with Israel. The president in his first term had helped forge commercial and diplomatic ties between Israel and Bahrain, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates through an effort dubbed the Abraham Accords. President Donald Trump welcomes Saudi Arabia\u2019s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci) Trump sees expansion of the accords as essential to his broader efforts to build stability in the Middle East after the two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Getting Saudi Arabia \u2014 the largest Arab economy and the birthplace of Islam \u2014 to sign on would spur a domino effect, he argues. But the Saudis have maintained that a path toward Palestinian statehood must first be established before normalizing relations with Israel can be considered. The Israelis remain steadfastly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state. \u201cWe want to be part of the Abraham Accords, but we want also to be sure that we secure a clear path of a two-state solution,\u201d Prince Mohammed said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON(National times)- President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed U.S. intelligence findings that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman likely had some culpability in the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi as Trump warmly welcomed the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia on his first White House visit in seven years. The U.S.-Saudi relationship had, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n