Reuters- 20 March 2018- WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday discussed tensions with Iran and a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen which has come under criticism in Congress.
Their talks at the White House were part of the first visit by the prince to the United States since he became the heir apparent last June to succeed King Salman. Prince Mohammed has consolidated power and is likely to rule for many decades if he succeeds his father.
Trump and the crown prince underscored the strength of U.S.-Saudi ties which suffered under the Obama administration. Saudi Arabia, a decades-long U.S. ally, felt neglected by President Barack Obama’s pursuit of a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, Riyadh’s regional rival.
Sitting side by side in the Oval Office, Trump said, “We’ve become very good friends over a very short period of time,” and produced charts to show the depth of Saudi purchases of U.S. military hardware and what he said were the number of American jobs they are providing.
IRAN TALKS
Both Trump and the crown prince want to constrain Iran’s rising influence in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia on Monday called the Iran nuclear deal a “flawed agreement,” and Trump has made clear he plans to exit the agreement unless changes are made to it.
“We’re going to see what happens,” Trump said.
“But Iran has not been treating that part of the world or the world itself appropriately. A lot of bad things are happening in Iran. The deal is coming up in one month and we’ll see what happens.”
