Trump gives Saudi speech urging Iran towards a ‘new and a better path’
The US president kicked off a four-day Middle Eastern trip on Tuesday with a visit to the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Donald Trump has given a speech in Saudi Arabia urging Iran to take a “new and a better path” as he pushes for a new nuclear deal.
The president said at the US-Saudi investment conference, during a four-day Middle East trip, that he wants to avoid conflict with Tehran.
“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.
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.
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.
