Trump, Eyeing Deals, Says MBS ‘Knew Nothing’ About Khashoggi
US President Donald Trump speaks with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of
By Sam Dagher and Kate Sullivan
November 18, 2025 at 6:00 AM EST
Updated on November 18, 2025 at 1:02 PM EST
US President Donald Trump said Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “knew nothing about” the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, as the pair met to announce economic deals at the White House.
“A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about,” Trump said after being asked about Khashoggi while sitting with the Saudi crown prince in the Oval Office. “Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen, but he knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that.”
Earlier, Trump said Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader had done an “incredible” job on human rights. A US intelligence report in 2021 implicated the 40-year-old crown prince, known as MBS, in the death of Khashoggi, who was killed in a Saudi consulate in Turkey.
The leaders said they expected Tuesday’s talks to focus on expanding Saudi Arabia’s investment in the US to as much as $1 trillion from a purported $600 billion previously. Trump said the US was likely to approve a defense agreement with the oil-rich kingdom and a civil nuclear deal, while reiterating that Washington would sell F-35 fighters to the country.
Trump said Israel was aware of the F-35 sale, which it had previously opposed, and would “be happy.”
Trump also said the leaders expected to agree on the sale of some advanced artificial intelligence chips to Saudi Arabia. He said the leaders had also discussed the possibility of Saudi Arabia establishing formal diplomatic ties with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords, though MBS indicated he was interested in work toward establishing a Palestinian state.
President Donald Trump welcomes Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House with a lavish reception and military flyover.
The meeting between Trump and MBS cements a burgeoning relationship that the oil-rich kingdom says will advance peace and stability in the Middle East. The royal was welcomed with the pomp and circumstance usually reserved for monarchs and heads of state, including a flyover by six fighter planes and a procession of at least a dozen horses.
“Saudi Arabia is a rising economic power among the G-20 and a major investment partner of the US,” Saudi commentator Abdulrahman al-Rashed, who is close to the royal court, wrote ahead of the visit. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that the success of Saudi-American relations will have a big impact on the region’s stability and prosperity.”
One potential finalized deal is the sale of F-35s, with Trump saying Monday that “we will be doing that” when asked about the potential transaction. Israel, the chief ally of Washington in the Middle East, is the only state in the region that has the Lockheed Martin Corp.-made planes and wants to keep that monopoly, but that stumbling block has apparently been overcome.
Trump’s say-so is however only an initial step in what’s likely to require years of negotiations, with Washington keen to protect the plane’s advanced technology, particularly given Riyadh’s defense ties to China.
The visit to the White House and the signing of the deals are important wins for the Saudi leader, who until a few years ago was shunned by many longstanding Western allies — including, briefly, Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden — over the killing of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Overshadowing much of Tuesday’s flurry of cooperation is that the US-Saudi relationship depends on MBS’s warm rapport with Trump, which dates back to the US leader’s first term. The deals — including the headline defense pact — lack binding commitments that must be secured through Congress and could be unwound by any future president.
“The challenge for the Saudis is that there are no formal guarantees any of this will outlast the Trump administration,” said Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “The reality is that while MBS is likely to be in power in three decades, he’s going to have to deal with a succession of American presidents.”
The dynamic is best illustrated by the issue of Saudi Arabia’s potential normalization of relations with Israel, a long-term goal of Washington’s and Trump in particular. The issue was not expected to be advanced on this visit, with the war in Gaza in a state of fragile ceasefire and MBS steadfast in his condition that steps must first be taken toward Palestinian statehood.
Another subject of uncertainty is Saudi Arabia’s desire to import advanced American AI chips from the likes of Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., shipments that Washington has restricted since 2023. The two sides have been seeking to resolve security concerns before the US grants a license, people familiar with the matter said last week.
— With assistance from Marisa Gertz
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