United States President Donald Trump shared hopes that Saudi Arabia will join the Abraham Accords “very shortly” during a press conference with reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday.
Trump stated that there has been “tremendous interest” in the normalization efforts and that he will be discussing the accords with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a White House meeting set to take place later this month, when they are expected to sign economic and defense agreements.
He emphasized that interest in the Abraham Accords has grown since June’s joint US-Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities that “put Iran out of business" and confirmed that it will be a topic of discussion during the US-Saudi meeting.
When asked about the talks, Trump told reporters it was "more than a meeting, we're honoring" Saudi Arabia.
Trump weighs supplying Saudi Arabia with F-35 fighter jets
Trump also said he is considering a deal to supply Saudi Arabia with F-35 stealth fighter jets, made by Lockheed Martin.
"They wanna buy a lot of jets," Trump told reporters. "I'm looking at that. They've asked me to look at it. They want to buy a lot of '35' - but they want to buy actually more than that, fighter jets."
A Pentagon intelligence report raised concerns over the potential F-35 deal, warning that China could acquire the aircraft's technology if the sale proceeds, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the assessment.