Just three years ago, the US was openly questioning its long-standing partnership with Saudi Arabia. President Joe Biden had vowed to make Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a pariah, and even arms deals with the kingdom were being reconsidered. Riyadh’s influence in Washington appeared to be slipping.
This week told a very different story.
When Mohammed bin Salman entered the Oval Office, he walked into a world transformed. President Donald Trump didn’t just welcome him, he personally defended him. At one point, he even scolded a reporter for pressing the crown prince about the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. In that moment, the message was clear: The White House was treating bin Salman not as a controversial figure, but as a key strategic partner.
A Diplomatic Comeback Years in the Making
Behind the scenes, the administration’s announcements revealed the true scope of bin Salman’s resurgence in Washington. Trump signaled a willingness to move past the Khashoggi episode and strengthen ties with a kingdom that has pledged nearly a trillion dollars in US investments and maintains close business connections with his own family.
The visit also spotlighted the crown prince’s growing geopolitical skill. On the world stage he has proven adept at playing great powers against one another, extracting maximum advantage for the kingdom and for himself. And in Washington this week, those skills delivered major results.
Perhaps his most surprising win was convincing Trump to drop the long-standing US condition that Saudi Arabia must fully normalize relations with Israel before major defense and trade agreements could move forward.
That shift marks a dramatic turn from just a year ago, when the Biden administration insisted that any US-Saudi deal was inseparable from a broader peace framework involving Israel and a pathway to a Palestinian state. With neither Israel nor Saudi Arabia willing to bend, progress stalled.
Trump has now uncoupled those issues, giving Riyadh almost everything it has wanted.
Big Wins: Jets, Defense Status and High-Tech Access
In a single week the United States:
• Designated Saudi Arabia a Major Non-NATO Ally
• Advanced plans to sell the kingdom F-35 jets similar to those flown by Israel
• Signed a Strategic Defense Agreement
• Launched an AI cooperation framework, including approval for advanced chip sales
• Finalized a critical minerals agreement
• Opened the door to expanded cooperation on nuclear energy
• Agreed to help end the civil war in Sudan
These moves signal the most significant upgrade in US-Saudi relations in years, and a major victory for a crown prince trying to reposition his kingdom as an economic and technological powerhouse, not just an oil exporter.
Seated beside Trump in the Oval Office, bin Salman framed the moment in historic terms, saying simply, “Today is a very important time in our history.”
What Saudi Arabia Didn’t Get
But even in a week full of wins, two major items remained out of reach: domestic uranium enrichment and a formal long-term defense pact.
Washington has long been wary of allowing any Middle Eastern country to enrich uranium on its own soil due to the potential for misuse. Riyadh argues that with its vast uranium reserves, giving up the right to enrichment would be a strategic mistake. But US officials held firm.
Saudi Arabia also wants a defense guarantee that would bind American protection beyond Trump’s presidency. Achieving that would require approval from Congress, and no such promise was mentioned in the White House statements.
Foreign policy experts say the kingdom is seeking something close to a NATO-style Article 5 commitment. The US hasn’t offered such a pledge to any country in over six decades.
Riyadh’s Long Game
Frustrated with Washington’s reluctance to commit, Saudi Arabia has steadily broadened its global partnerships. It restored ties with Iran in a deal brokered by China and deepened security coordination with Beijing. It also signed a mutual defense agreement with Pakistan earlier this year, signaling it has options beyond the United States.
Washington has taken notice. Many lawmakers now argue that strengthening ties with Riyadh is essential to preventing the kingdom from drifting further into China’s orbit.
Analysts say the US-Saudi relationship is no longer driven primarily by the Israeli question, but by the larger competition for global power. The US sees Saudi Arabia as critical in sectors like energy, minerals, and artificial intelligence all areas where China is aggressively expanding.
The Road Ahead
Trump said he received a “positive response” from bin Salman regarding the possibility of normalization with Israel, but stopped short of calling it a commitment. And at this point, the crown prince doesn’t seem to be in a rush. Saudi public opinion toward Israel has cooled, and Riyadh has already secured huge gains from Washington without offering major concessions in return.
For bin Salman, the calculation is clear: he leaves Washington with jet deals, AI access, strategic status, and a renewed partnership with the world’s most powerful country all without giving up the two things he values most: total control over Saudi Arabia’s political future and autonomy over his foreign policy strategy.
For a leader once considered untouchable in Washington, this week marked a stunning comeback and a reminder of just how effectively he has learned to play the global game.
