Donald Trump will head on the final leg of his Middle East tour as he visits the United Arab Emirates. It comes the day after he signed deals on defence and aviation with Qatar and met Syria’s president, a man once imprisoned by the US. Watch live below as Trump speaks in Doha.
Thursday 15 May 2025 08:21, UK
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
In his wide-ranging meeting, Donald Trump is now speaking about Apple.
He says he’s spoken to Apple chief executive Tim Cook in the past few days after reports of Apple aiming to make most of its iPhones sold in the US at factories in India by the end of 2026.
Trump says he told Cook he doesn’t want Apple to build in India.
It comes days after Trump said he spoke to Cook after the US and China agreed to suspend most tariffs for 90 days.
„I spoke to Tim Cook this morning, and he’s going to, I think, even up his numbers,“ Trump said in the Oval Office before setting off for the Middle East.
„He’s going to be building a lot of plants in the United States for Apple, and we look forward to that.“
Just now in Doha, he again says Apple is upping its production in the US.
Trump adds he’s „not interested“ in Apple having factories in India – but the company itself may have its own view on whether that’s workable…
With the media assembled as Donald Trump speaks at the business event in Doha, he’s covering a lot of topics.
The US president now turns to Iran, and says he thinks the US is getting very close to a nuclear deal with the country.
He explains that Iran has „sort of“ agreed to the terms, and goes on to say they can’t have a nuclear weapon.
„We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust,“ he says.
„It’s very simple,“ Trump adds, before adding that he wants them to succeed.
It comes after reports that a top Iranian official has said the country is prepared to make a number of concessions related to its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Ali Shamkhani, a top political, military and nuclear adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spoke to Sky News‘ US partner NBC News.
He said Tehran was willing to commit to never making nuclear weapons again, getting rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, which can be weaponised, agree to only enrich uranium to the lower levels needed for civilian use and allow international inspectors to supervise the process.
This was in exchange for the prospect of the immediate lifting of all economic sanctions on the country.
We’re just hearing from Donald Trump, who is speaking in Doha at a business leaders event.
He has been talking about Syria after his meeting with the country’s president yesterday.
„I met the new leader of the country and he’s got a strong past and I liked him a lot, I think he’ll be a great representative.“
Ahmed al Sharaa is a one-time insurgent leader who spent years imprisoned by US forces after being captured in Iraq.
He was named president of Syria in January, a month after an offensive by insurgent groups led by his Hayat Tahrir al Sham, or HTS, stormed Damascus and ended the 54-year rule of the Assad family.
He goes on to describe al Sharaa as a „strong guy“ who has also had a „strong past“.
The United Arab Emirates is the final stop for Donald Trump on his tour of the Middle East, with the US president travelling there later this morning.
But there’s hopes in the country that the visit will solidify an agreement on artificial intelligence.
Sources have told Reuters that the US has a preliminary agreement with the UAE to allow it to import 500,000 of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips per year, starting this year.
It would be a significant boost to the Emirates‘ construction of data centres vital for developing AI models.
The agreement is reportedly through to 2027, but there could be a chance it’s in place until 2030.
It’s yet another busy day for Donald Trump as he makes the final stop on his Middle East tour with a trip to the United Arab Emirates.
But before he gets on Air Force One, he still has an event in Qatar.
See his full itinerary below:
Between landing in Abu Dhabi and arriving at Qasr Al Watan, Trump will also visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the Ritz Carlton Grand Canal.
Just like the past few days in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the day will end with a state dinner.
Hello and welcome back to our live coverage of Donald Trump’s tour of the Middle East.
Yesterday, the US president flew from Saudi Arabia to Qatar where he signed defence and aviation deals in Doha alongside the country’s emir.
He also met with new Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa, who he called a „young, attractive guy“ with a „real shot at pulling it together“.
Today, Trump is wrapping up his tour of the Middle East with a visit to the United Arab Emirates.
There’s hope in the country that the US can help it become a global leader in artificial intelligence – something we’ll tell you more about in the next few moments.
Stay with us as we bring you all the latest updates.
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:
For more expert analysis, catch up on the latest from our team of editors and correspondents:
Iran’s president says his country will not „bow to any bully“ in response to Donald Trump’s criticism of Tehran during his Gulf tour.
Speaking at an investment summit in Saudi Arabia yesterday, Trump called Iran the „most destructive force“ in the Middle East, blaming it for instability across the region.
He also said the US will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon and said Washington would have „no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure“ on Tehran if it rejected his „olive branch“.
In comments broadcast live on Iranian state TV today, president Masoud Pezeshkian issued a direct response to Trump.
„He thinks he can come here, chant slogans, and scare us,“ he said.
„For us, martyrdom is far sweeter than dying in bed. You came to frighten us? We will not bow to any bully.“
Donald Trump is not going to Turkey to join Russia-Ukraine talks, a US official has told the Reuters news agency.
The US president had suggested he might attend the talks in Istanbul, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would attend, but only if Vladimir Putin did too.
But it seems the Russian president has rejected the offer, with his name not on the list of delegates heading to Turkey.
The list instead includes presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, deputy foreign minister Galuzin Mikhail Yuryevich and deputy minister of defence Alexander Fomin.
We’ve just had some information on the „culinary and cultural experience“ enjoyed by guests during tonight’s state dinner in Doha.
According to the pool of reporters at Lusail Palace, roasted camel was on the menu, although it’s unclear if Donald Trump was served any.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free