President Donald Trump concluded a multi-nation trip to the Middle East on Friday, announcing a slate of large-scale economic agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.
In Saudi Arabia, he signed a $600 billion “strategic economic partnership” with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that includes investments in U.S. energy infrastructure, artificial intelligence data centers, and a $142 billion defense package.
In Qatar, Trump finalized a $1.2 trillion deal featuring the purchase of 210 Boeing aircraft by Qatar Airways for $96 billion, plus investments in quantum technologies, energy, and workforce development. He also expanded a $1.4 trillion UAE agreement announced in March with an added $200 billion in commercial projects.
Alongside the economic announcements, Trump delivered a message to Iran regarding its nuclear ambitions.
“If Iran’s leadership rejects the olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure,” he said in Saudi Arabia.
Trump also lifted U.S. sanctions on Syria, citing the fall of the Assad regime and a shift in power to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. “I am also ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria to give them a fresh start,” he said. The administration confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would meet with Syria’s foreign minister in Turkey.
Slide 1 photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
