Economy/Business

At a high‑profile White House summit, President Trump hosted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, designated Saudi Arabia a Major Non‑NATO Ally and announced a package of deals including a U.S. defense pact, planned F‑35 sales, commitments on tanks, AI, civil nuclear cooperation and Saudi investment pledges that were boosted from about $600 billion to nearly $1 trillion. Trump signaled a de‑prioritization of human‑rights pressure—downplaying the Khashoggi case and emphasizing personal rapport—while pushing Saudi‑Israel normalization amid tense talks; Israeli officials sought conditions on any F‑35 transfer to protect Israel’s qualitative military edge and U.S. officials say safeguards and downgraded variants would factor into any sale.