Middle East

Saudi Crown Prince ‘Humiliated’ by Trump’s Oval Office Boast of Arms Sales

26/03/2018

MBS looked very uncomfortable as Trump listed the amounts of weapons the U.S. has sold to the Saudis, ‘$880 million … $645 million … $6 billion … that’s for frigates’

Mar 25, 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump gave a warm welcome to Saudi Arabia‘s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, on Tuesday and credited U.S. defense sales to the Saudis with boosting American jobs, even as Riyadh’s involvement in Yemen’s civil war faced criticism.

In the Oval Office, Trump and the crown prince praised the strength of U.S.-Saudi ties, which had grown strained under the Obama administration in part over differing views toward Riyadh’s regional rival, Iran.

Not so with Trump, who has taken a hardline view against Iran similar to that of the Saudi crown prince who has compared Iran’s supreme leader to Adolf Hitler.

Sitting side by side in the Oval Office, Trump held up charts to show the depth of Saudi purchases of U.S. military hardware, ranging from ships to missile defense to planes and fighting vehicles. The PR stunt, according to CNN over the weekend, left MBS feeling humiliated by Trump.