Trump moves to bring the Saudis even closer

ON MAY 13, U.S. PRESIDENT Donald Trump will open the first multicountry foreign trip of his second term with a stop in Saudi Arabia, underscoring that ties with Riyadh remain a Trump priority.

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Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh in October 2024

(He'll also visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.) While a hoped-for diplomatic breakthrough normalizing Saudi-Israeli relations will have to wait—at least until the Gaza war ends—plenty of other opportunities will allow Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, to leave their meeting claiming diplomatic victory.

The Saudi need for a U.S. security guarantee is less urgent than during Trump's first term. Iran, still the Saudis' main regional rival, is now far weaker after Israel's battering of its allies Hamas and Hezbollah and the ouster of Tehran-aligned Syrian strongman Bashar Assad. It's also unlikely Trump could deliver the two-thirds Senate supermajority needed for a formal defense treaty.