‘Tough’ talks: Tensions arise behind Trump and MBS’s bromance
When they fronted reporters in the Oval Office last week, the Saudi Crown Prince and Donald Trump had nothing but praise for each other. Until normalisation with Israel was brought up.
When they fronted reporters in the Oval Office last week, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Donald Trump had nothing but praise for each other – another bromance between the US President and a world leader.
And then a reporter had to ruin it all by asking Prince Mohammed if they had discussed normalisation with Israel.
Donald Trump looked down and MBS looked away for a moment before saying diplomatically that the two men had had an “honest discussion” (for which, read “row”). He went on to say that he had told Mr Trump his country’s position remained that normalisation had to be tied to an independent Palestine.
The two men swiftly moved the conversation on but it has emerged that MBS’s diplomatic language did indeed camouflage “tensions” between the two men over the Crown Prince’s firm stance on ties with Israel.
US officials at the meeting told the Axios website that talks between the two men became “heated” when the Abraham Accords were introduced.
According to Axios, White House officials told MBS ahead of the Oval Office meeting that Mr Trump expected progress on the issue but when Mr Trump pressured the prince to join the accords, MBS pushed back equally hard.
The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020, normalised relations between Israel and several other Arab nations including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. They were a major achievement in Mr Trump’s first term, and he has made clear that having Saudi join the accords is key to their success. The kingdom had initially appeared positive about normalising ties, but halted all negotiations after the October 7 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas.
When Mr Trump pressed him on normalisation, MBS responded that while he wanted to move forward on normalisation, in return for a deal Israel would have to agree to “an irreversible” path to a Palestinian state, with a confirmed deadline. He told the President that Saudi public opinion was overwhelmingly anti-Israel in the wake of the Gaza war, and wasn’t ready for normalisation, Axios reports.
Sources told the website the conversation was polite but “tough.”
“The best way to say it is disappointment and irritation. The president really wants them to join the Abraham Accords. He tried very hard to talk to him. It was an honest discussion. But MBS is a strong man. He stood his ground,” an official said.
“The two-state solution is an issue,” another official told Axios, though MBS “never said no to normalisation. The door is open for doing it later.”
The White House said now there was a ceasefire in Gaza and Iran’s nuclear capability had been decimated, Mr Trump felt it was essential for all Arab states to join the accords to “advance peace in the region.”
During the prince’s visit, in which he was feted by the White House, Mr Trump said Saudi Arabia would receive the same model of the F-35 fighter jets that Israel has, while the kingdom would invest up to $1 trillion in the US.
Both countries also signed a memorandum on the legal framework for potential agreement in which the US will help Saudi Arabia develop a civilian nuclear industry.
And notably, Mr Trump defended MBS over the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, declaring the crown prince knew nothing about it – despite the CIA at the time assessing that the royal orchestrated the killing.
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