Donald Trump has said the US-Saudi relationship is „more powerful than ever“ after signing a $600bn deal with Riyadh, which includes the „largest defence sales agreement in history“. Listen to the Trump 100 podcast as you catch up on the US president’s Middle East tour below.
Tuesday 13 May 2025 22:49, UK
Thanks for joining us – we’ll be back in the morning with all the latest from Donald Trump’s tour of the Middle East.
Before then, here’s a recap of the biggest stories from the last 24 hours:
Watch: Trump’s Syria announcement and hopes for Middle East’s ‚Golden Age‘
For more expert analysis, catch up on the latest from our team of editors and correspondents:
Donald Trump’s speech in Riyadh will go down in history as „very favourable“ in that part of the world, according to the editor of Arab News.
Fasial Abbas said Trump passed on „very important messages“ and looked like a „true statesman and man of peace“.
Speaking on The World with Yalda Hakim, he added: „I think everybody left the room feeling that this visit, this speech, has been about tomorrow, about the future, about the next 80 years.
„And from what we’ve heard today, it’s going to be very positive.“
Watch his full interview below, in which he compares Trump’s view of the US-Saudi partnership to „renewing vows“…
The first day of Donald Trump’s already eventful Middle East tour is coming to a close.
Here, lead world news presenter Yalda Hakim looks at how it unfolded for the US president…
Celebrations are taking place in the Syrian capital of Damascus tonight after Donald Trump said he plans to lift US sanctions on the country.
Trump made the announcement during a speech at a US-Saudi investment summit in Riyadh today, saying he was acting on a request to scrap the sanctions by Mohammed bin Salman.
„Oh what I do for the crown prince,“ Trump said, drawing laughs from the crowd.
Reports of celebratory gunfire and fireworks on the streets of the Syrian capital soon followed as people welcomed the news.
Donald Trump has often said that his „favourite word“ is „tariff“. Surely „deal“ would come a close second.
The president’s new term in the White House has been dominated by a protectionist agenda aimed at restoring America’s domestic manufacturing base and jobs.
His primary objective is cutting America’s trade deficit – by which the country imports more in value terms, than it exports.
That gap, the largest for any country in the world, stands at about $1.1trn (£830bn) annually.
The threat of, and later, the implementation of stop-start tariffs has flung the global trade order into chaos, with some companies and traditional trading partners taking the opportunity of a „deal“, when able to.
Trump has claimed that his work to date is worth $10trn (£7.5trn) to the US economy but experts have said the values are likely to be much lower and almost impossible to quantify.
Here, we outline some of the big deals to have been claimed so far in a bid to achieve Trump’s economic and trade goals.
Donald Trump spoke on the phone with released Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander today.
The 21-year-old was believed to be the last living American hostage in Gaza and spent 584 days in captivity.
Dan Scavino, White House deputy chief of staff, posted a photo on X showing Trump on the phone in Riyadh today.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff was also on the call and praised Trump for his leadership which, he says, „made this possible“.
Donald Trump’s tour of the Middle East continues tomorrow.
He is set to meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa after revealing he would end sanctions on the country today.
The US president will then leave Saudi Arabia, where he today announced a $600bn strategic economic deal between Washington and Riyadh.
Trump will then fly to Qatar, where he is expected to accept a free plane to replace Air Force One as a gift from the Qatari royal family.
The two customised Boeing 747-200B aircraft – which become known as Air Force One when the US President steps onboard – are among the most recognisable symbols of America on the global stage.
Made by an American company and emblazoned with the words United States of America, the US flag, and the presidential seal, they not only ferry the president around but also provide a „flying Oval Office“ to allow work to continue.
It is for these reasons, among others, that the idea of Trump accepting a Qatari plane to replace Air Force One has led to concerns.
Described in some reports as a „palace in the sky“, the Boeing 747-8 jumbo would be a gift from the Qatari royal family – a move Trump has described as a „great gesture“.
But the move has sparked criticism from opponents – who have raised security fears and concerns over the eligibility of such a gift – as well as from the Republican Party, and even some voices from within Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
Donald Trump is finishing his evening in Saudi Arabia with a state dinner hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
It means his public appearances for the day are over, giving us a chance to take a breath and reflect on the president’s busy day.
Here’s how the first day of his Middle East tour unfolded…
In today’s Saudi Arabia, convention centres resemble palaces.
The King Abdul Aziz International Conference Centre was built in 1999, but inside it feels like Versailles.
Some might call it kitsch, but it’s a startling reflection of how far this country has come – the growth of a nation from desert bedouins to vastly wealthy regional power-broker in just one generation.
At a bar overnight, over mocktails and a shisha, I listened to one young Saudi man tell me how his family had watched this transformation.
His father, now in his 60s, had lived the change.
He was a child born in a desert tent, brought up in a dusty town, fought the Soviets in Afghanistan with mujahideen in his 30s and spent his 40s in a deeply conservative Riyadh.
Now he watches, wide-eyed, the change supercharged in recent years…
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