Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman speaks with US President Donald Trump on the day of the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is considering agreeing to a deal to supply Saudi Arabia with F-35 stealth fighter jets, an announcement that heralds closer defence cooperation with the kingdom ahead of a visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Washington, next week.
"They wanna buy a lot of jets," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
"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."
The potential sale comes as Trump plans to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House next week, when they are expected to sign economic and defence agreements.
Asked about the talks, Trump told reporters it was "more than meeting, we're honouring" Saudi Arabia.
He repeated that he hoped Saudi Arabia would soon join the Abraham Accords, which have normalised relations between Israel and Muslim-majority nations. Riyadh has resisted such a step absent agreement on a credible roadmap to Palestinian statehood.
A Pentagon intelligence report has 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.
But Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing a White House official; that Trump is expected to reach a deal with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman allowing Riyadh to acquire the F-35 stealth fighter jets
While the US president is expected to urge the Saudi de-facto ruler to normalise ties with Israel, Saudi Arabia is unlikely to agree to normalisation at this stage, with Prince Mohammed's priority set for firmer US security guarantees after Israeli strikes in September on Qatar, an iron-clad US ally, rattled the wealthy Gulf region.
"We have a lot of people joining the Abraham Accords and hopefully we are going to get Saudi Arabia very soon," Trump told a business forum in Miami.
Tentative moves towards normalisation, in return for security and energy guarantees, were put on hold after the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023 triggered Israel's devastating war in Gaza.
Riyadh appears in no mood to acquiesce in the current climate, especially as it leads an international push for a Palestinian state -- its oft-stated condition for normalising ties.
Riyadh is careful to table in anger over Israel's war in Gaza and strong pro-Palestinian sentiment, in the region and the kingdom itself, in any decision regarding normalisation.
"A Palestinian state is a prerequisite for regional integration," Manal Radwan, who heads the negotiating team at the Saudi foreign affairs ministry, underlined this month at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.
"We have said it many times, and I don't think that we have received a full understanding, because we keep being asked this question," she added.
Experts say the Saudi crown prince will focus instead on bilateral security arrangements. "For the Saudis, the goal of this trip... appears to be threefold: to elevate, consolidate, and facilitate security and defence cooperation," wrote Aziz Alghashian from the Washington-based think tank Arab Gulf States Institute.
The visit will last three days starting Monday, with the crown prince to meet Trump on Tuesday.
The Saudi crown prince will seek better US security guarantees including the purchase of F-35 jets.
Doha secured an executive order that Trump signed, vowing to defend Qatar against attacks after Israel's attack -- a deal that experts say other Gulf countries are eager to snatch.
As well as advanced air and missile defence systems, Riyadh is reportedly seeking to buy F-35 fighter jets, currently only owned by Israel in the Middle East.
It will also push hard for access to the high-tech chips it needs to fuel its artificial intelligence ambitions, experts said.
A US-Saudi investment forum spotlighting energy and artificial intelligence will take place in Washington during the prince's visit, the event's website says.
Prince Mohammed has close personal ties with Trump, a relationship that was burnished by a lavish welcome and $600 billion in investment pledges when Trump visited the world's biggest oil exporter in May.
As Riyadh embarks on ambitious tourist and entertainment projects to diversify its oil-reliant economy, it has sought to de-escalate regional tensions -- including with former arch-rival Iran.
Radwan said the kingdom would continue to offer its "good offices" on the Iranian issue, adding that "direct negotiation between Iran and the United States is essential to resolve the nuclear file".
"At stake is whether the crown prince can formalise a durable US-Saudi framework that delivers credible deterrence against Iran and underwrites Vision 2030," said Andreas Krieg, a security expert at King's College London, referring to the oil-rich kingdom's ambitious economic diversification plan.
"In return, Washington will press for tighter guardrails on sensitive China links and tangible movement tied to an eventual Israel track and a plausible political horizon for Palestinians," he added.
In May, at the start of Trump's first foreign tour since returning to office, his "bromance" with Prince Mohammed was on full display, with the president warmly complimenting his host.
Their bonhomie has delivered results, particularly with regards to Syria, whose long-time president was toppled last December after 14 years of civil war.
Trump said it was the prince who convinced him to drop sanctions on Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, and to meet the country's jihadist-turned-president in Riyadh.
Six months later, Trump welcomed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to the White House.