US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a “civil but difficult” meeting at the White House last week in which talks grew tense over Saudi–Israel normalization, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing US officials.
In public, Trump and bin Salman flattered one another; however, part of their closed-door discussions were tense, according to Axios. Trump was disappointed to hear the pushback from the Saudi crown prince, the report stated, citing officials.
During a public meeting at the White House with bin Salman, Trump said he received a positive response from the Saudi crown prince on Saudi-Israeli normalization during their conversations.
Bin Salman said he wants his country to be part of the Abraham Accords, but also make sure to secure a path to a two-state solution."
In private, when Trump pushed for the Muslim nation to join the Abraham Accords, bin Salman pushed back, arguing that Saudi public opinion is overwhelmingly anti-Israel following the Israel-Hamas War. He claimed that Saudi Arabian society is not ready for normalization, Axios said, citing three sources.
"The best way to say it is disappointment and irritation. The president really wants them to join the Abraham Accords. He tried very hard to talk to him. It was an honest discussion. But MBS is a strong man. He stood his ground," Axios quoted one source as saying.
According to the report, in exchange for Israeli normalization, bin Salman posited that Israel should agree to an irreversible path to a Palestinian state with a hard deadline. "The two-state solution is an issue," a US official told Axios, though he "never said no to normalization. The door is open for doing it later."
The White House told Axios that it is essential for Trump that all Middle Eastern countries join the Abraham Accords since the war in Gaza has ended and Iran's nuclear program has been set back.
Weapons sales, defense ties
Normalization, defense ties, and advanced weapons sales were top of the agenda during bin Salman's US visit.
In their meeting last week, the US president said that the US would sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia in a similar arrangement it has with Israel. "As far as I'm concerned, I think they are both at a level where they should get top of the line (F-35s)," Trump declared, referring to Saudi Arabia and Israel as great allies.
Trump also disclosed a possible civil nuclear deal with the Saudis, saying he can see one happening with the kingdom.
He also announced that MBS had agreed to invest $600 billion in the United States, with the Saudi Crown Prince promising to increase that to $1 trillion.