November 19, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump rolled out the red carpet on Tuesday for Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), in his first U.S. visit since 2018. Among the major items announced were a Strategic Defense Agreement, the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, as well as a civilian nuclear agreement and designating the kingdom as a major non-NATO ally.
Ahead of the visit, American Jewish Committee (AJC) convened a discussion moderated by Jason Isaacson, AJC Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer, with Anne Dreazen, Vice President of AJC’s Center for a New Middle East, and Michael Ratney, former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Top Insights:
- Beyond Oil: U.S.–Saudi ties are expanding into AI, tech, manufacturing, and regional trade, with Israel potentially part of the mix.
- Israel Normalization Still a No-Go: Saudi Arabia isn’t ready to join the Abraham Accords without progress on Palestinian statehood.
- Balancing Act: Riyadh wants F-35s and U.S. guarantees while balancing Iran, Russia, and China—but Washington remains the top security partner.
Here are five key takeaways about the visit and the broader U.S.-Saudi relationship and its impact on Israel.
The U.S.–Saudi Partnership Is Shifting Beyond Oil
The long-standing oil-for-security framework that defined U.S.–Saudi relations for decades is giving way to a broader agenda built around technology, economic diversification, and regional connectivity. During President Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia in May, the Saudis pledged to invest $600 billion in the
U.S.Ambassador Michael Ratney said the relationship is no longer confined to traditional pillars. “Security [is] still important… but into that, you now have conversations about emerging technology, particularly artificial intelligence, manufacturing, exchanges in arts and culture… tourism, things that were really never a part of the relationship at all are now front and center.”
This push is driving new joint projects in AI, digital infrastructure, manufacturing, and education. It also underpins cooperation on major regional economic initiatives, including the proposed India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which would link trade routes through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Europe.
Riyadh Still Seeks a Permanent, Treaty-Level Security Guarantee from Washington Over the Long-Term
On Tuesday, Trump and the Crown Prince signed a Strategic Defense Agreement, and Trump announced that he was designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally. However, it is likely that Saudi leaders still want a formal defense agreement with the U.S. that provides long-term clarity and anchors the kingdom’s security in its partnership with Washington.
“A treaty, there's no way you could get a treaty through the Senate and get 67 votes without everything else that was associated with the normalization deal [with Israel]. So they're going to look for whatever they can get,” Ratney explained.
Normalization With Israel Remains Premature
One of President Trump’s key goals with Saudi Arabia has been pushing Riyadh to join the Abraham Accords—the agreements reached during his first term that normalized relations between Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, and, later, Morocco. Most recently, Kazakhstan, which already maintains ties with Israel, also agreed to join.
But Riyadh has insisted on a credible path to Palestinian statehood, and the Gaza war has pushed the issue further down the agenda.
“It's certainly one of AJC’s Center for a New Middle East’s top priorities to do everything we can to advance normalization with Saudi Arabia,” said Dreazen. “And I think it was very clear…that all of the leaders of the region, and I think this is true, frankly, for Crown Prince MBS and for the Saudis as well, that they see the strategic and the economic logic of normalization clearly.”
While Dreazen does not expect an announcement, she anticipates at least a signal that the door remains open. “I do think we'll see some sort of statement coming out of this visit about some sort of, or potentially a statement about, an intent to consider normalization, or something carefully worded to sort of keep the iron in the fire.”
Ratney echoed that assessment: “They just couldn't imagine doing it, public opinion [in Saudi Arabia] simply wouldn't, wouldn't permit it.”
At the White House on Tuesday, MBS responded to a reporter's question on this possibility.
“We want to be part of the Abraham Accords, but we want also to be sure that [we] secure a clear path [toward a] two-state solution,” Bin Salman said.
Saudis Want F-35s, But Several Concerns Remain
Ahead of the visit, President Trump announced plans for the U.S. to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. Israel is currently the only Middle Eastern country operating the stealth aircraft, which it used prominently in its war against the Iranian regime in June.
Despite the announcement, Dreazen noted that several major technical and political hurdles would need to be resolved before Saudi Arabia could ever acquire the jets.
“There are lots of issues that need to be worked out, I think, for this deal to obtain congressional approval. And of course, Congress does need to approve these types of arms sales, but some of the issues that have been noted already include how, how sensitive U.S. technology will be preserved.”
“Another big issue is, of course, Israel’s qualitative military edge. That is something that the administration, I’m sure, has been working through the details, and will have to explain with Congress,” Dreazen said.
Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge (QME) is a legal U.S. commitment to ensure Israel retains superior military capabilities, including advanced weapons, technology, and training, over any regional adversaries.
Russia and China Are Shaping Saudi Arabia’s Next Moves
Saudi Arabia’s ties with Russia and China illustrate a pragmatic balancing act—not a shift away from the United States. As Ratney explained, the kingdom maintains broad global relationships driven by practical needs:
“The Saudis have relations with a lot of countries, mostly for very pragmatic reasons. China is their biggest customer for oil, the Russians, it's not a great relationship, but they feel like they need the Russians with respect to global oil markets… But ultimately, they want their defense relationship not anchored in China, not anchored in Russia or anywhere else, but anchored in the United States.”
Dreazen noted that while China is “a key partner for Saudi Arabia on security, on trade and on economics,” Riyadh doesn’t “really perceive that China or Russia, or any of the external superpowers can substitute for what the United States provides in terms of equipment, in terms of our willingness to potentially give security assurances to the kingdom.”
