Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the United States on November 18, 2025, marks a pivotal moment in the evolving relationship between Riyadh and Washington. This trip, his first to the US since 2018, comes with high stakes and a clear agenda: to secure stronger American security guarantees and to cement economic and technological partnerships that have been years in the making. According to ISPI, the Saudi leader is keen to move beyond traditional regional issues, focusing instead on national defense and the realization of deals initiated during President Donald Trump’s May 2025 visit to Saudi Arabia.
Security remains at the heart of the discussions. Saudi Arabia’s confidence in the US commitment to Gulf security has been shaken by recent events—first, the 2019 Iranian attack on Saudi Aramco’s facilities, and more recently, the 2025 Israeli strike in Qatar. These incidents have prompted Riyadh to seek what officials are calling a “once in a generation” defense agreement with the US. The goal is to lay the foundation for a new security architecture in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), reminiscent of the historic 1945 “oil for security” pact between King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
But the landscape has changed since those days. Qatar currently enjoys the strongest American security guarantees in the region, including its designation as a Major non-NATO Ally (MNNA) in 2022—an honor not yet extended to Saudi Arabia. This has created a defense asymmetry within the GCC, one that Riyadh is eager to address. As ISPI notes, Saudi Arabia’s strategy is now multi-aligned: while it seeks new partnerships, the US remains the cornerstone of its security framework. The recent Saudi-Pakistan mutual defense agreement, signed in September 2025, exemplifies Riyadh’s approach—diversifying alliances while keeping Washington at the center.
The Saudi leadership is also acutely aware of the shifting dynamics in the Middle East. While regional issues such as Gaza, Israel, Iran, and Syria will inevitably surface in talks, the main focus is not on “normalization”—a term Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is reportedly keen to avoid, given the current impasse over a two-state solution for Palestine. Instead, the emphasis is on recalibrating the Saudi-American alliance for a new era.
One of the most consequential items on the agenda is the proposed sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. On November 17, 2025, President Trump publicly announced his intention to approve the sale of these advanced aircraft. “I will say that we will be doing that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, as reported by Reuters. “We’ll be selling the F-35s.” Saudi Arabia has requested up to 48 of these jets, a deal that could be worth billions of dollars and has already cleared a key Pentagon hurdle ahead of the crown prince’s visit.
The significance of this potential sale cannot be overstated. As Reuters notes, it represents a major policy shift that could alter the military balance in the Middle East and test the US commitment to maintaining Israel’s “qualitative military edge.” The Times of Israel adds that the deal has sparked debate within Washington, with a recent Pentagon intelligence report warning that China could gain access to sensitive F-35 technology if the sale goes through. These concerns highlight the delicate balancing act facing US policymakers: strengthening ties with Saudi Arabia while safeguarding regional stability and advanced military secrets.
Despite these risks, the Trump administration appears determined to move forward. A senior White House official told Reuters that the president intended to discuss the jets with the crown prince before making a final determination. Yet, all signs point toward approval, with Trump’s public statements and the cleared Pentagon hurdles indicating strong momentum behind the deal.
Beyond defense, the economic dimension of the visit is equally significant. On November 19, 2025, the Saudi-US Investment Summit will convene, co-hosted by the Saudi Ministry of Investment and the US-Saudi Business Council. The summit will spotlight opportunities in energy, technology, and infrastructure—areas that Princess Reema bint Bandar, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US, recently described as the new pillars of the bilateral alliance. “The current Riyadh-Washington alliance is built on technology and innovation,” she said at a business forum in Miami, as cited by ISPI, contrasting it with previous decades when energy and defense dominated the relationship.
Central to this economic push is Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a leader in advanced technologies, particularly semiconductors. In May 2025, Riyadh reached an agreement to purchase chips from Nvidia, a move seen as essential for both its economic diversification plans and the localization of its defense industry. However, as ISPI reports, the Saudis have expressed disappointment that many economic deals signed during Trump’s earlier visit remain unfulfilled. The hope now is that this visit will yield concrete outcomes, including the long-awaited US export licenses for cutting-edge semiconductors.
The broader context is one of rapid transformation and recalibration. The GCC states, alarmed by recent security threats, have called for the activation of joint defense mechanisms and enhanced deterrence capabilities. Yet, as ISPI observes, these joint capabilities are still in their infancy. Saudi Arabia’s quest for explicit, written security guarantees—modeled after the executive order Trump signed for Qatar in October 2025—reflects a desire for both immediate reassurance and a more integrated, forward-looking defense partnership with the US.
This approach echoes the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (C-SIPA) that the US signed with Bahrain in 2023, later joined by the UK. While C-SIPA stops short of a mutual defense treaty, it commits the parties to deeper integration of defensive systems, particularly in the air and maritime domains. For Saudi Arabia, a similar arrangement would provide politically binding assurances and support its long-term goal of defense autonomy, all while maintaining interoperability with US forces.
Yet, challenges remain. The F-35 sale, in particular, has raised eyebrows not only in Washington but also among US allies. The concern, as reported by The Times of Israel, is that advanced American military technology could inadvertently find its way to adversaries such as China. This underscores the complexity of balancing strategic interests, technological safeguards, and the imperative to maintain regional stability.
As the world watches this high-profile visit unfold, the stakes could hardly be higher. Mohammed bin Salman’s “Saudi first” approach aims to secure the kingdom’s place as a regional leader, both militarily and economically. For the US, the challenge is to reinforce its partnership with Riyadh while navigating a landscape fraught with security risks and shifting alliances. The outcome of these talks may well define the next chapter in the Saudi-American alliance—and, by extension, the future of Gulf security.
This week’s meetings and summits are more than just diplomatic rituals; they are a test of whether old partnerships can adapt to a rapidly changing world. As both nations look to the future, the choices they make now will echo for decades to come.
