Trump Approves F-35 Sales as Saudi Arabia Pledges $1 Trillion

President Donald Trump hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on November 18, 2025, for a strategic reset of bilateral relations. The visit resulted in the designation of Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally and the signing of a Strategic Defense Agreement. This pact authorizes the sale of up to 48 F-35 stealth fighter jets and nearly 300 Abrams tanks to the kingdom. To preserve Israel's qualitative military edge, U.S. officials clarified that the Saudi aircraft would be downgraded versions lacking the advanced electronic warfare and weapons systems used by Israel.

In exchange for these security guarantees, Mohammed bin Salman pledged to increase Saudi investments in the U.S. from $600 billion to nearly $1 trillion, focusing on artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and critical minerals. The leaders also finalized agreements on civil nuclear energy cooperation and an AI memorandum of understanding. A separate U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center saw $270 billion in corporate deals signed, including a partnership between Elon Musk's xAI and the Saudi-backed company Humain to build a 500-megawatt data center.

Diplomatic efforts to expand the Abraham Accords remained stalled. Mohammed bin Salman conditioned normalization with Israel on a "clear path" toward a two-state solution and Palestinian statehood, a demand Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected. Trump also faced criticism for dismissing U.S. intelligence findings regarding the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, asserting that the prince "knew nothing about it."