Andrew Leber
The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.Learn More
“That’s another point you won today,” President Donald Trump said to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), announcing Saudi Arabia’s new status as a major non-NATO ally (MNNA) at a state dinner on Tuesday in honor of the kingdom’s de facto ruler.
The prince and the president touted several new U.S.-Saudi agreements during MBS’s two-day Washington visit this week. In addition to MNNA status, the deals included new AI partnerships with U.S. tech giants and the release of advanced Nvidia chips to Saudi AI firms, the potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, a nominal commitment from MBS to invest almost $1 trillion in the U.S. economy, and a nominal commitment from Trump to look into resolving the civil war in Sudan.
Many of these deals are less than meets the eye—either huge numbers announced solely to grab headlines or initial agreements that will take further negotiations to lock in. Still, the reputational gains for MBS in making it back to the White House are significant—not simply rehabilitating the crown prince as an essential part of the U.S.-Saudi relationship, but reinforcing his claims to domestic and regional leadership.
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