- Crown Prince MBS will visit the White House next month.
- The pact may resemble a security agreement between the United States and Qatar.
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentions strong strategic cooperation.
Saudi Arabia is discussing a defense deal with the United States that it hopes to seal when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits the White House next month. Financial Times reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
This was reported by a senior official in the Trump administration Financial Times there were “discussions about signing something when the crown prince arrives, but the details are in flux.”
The FT said the agreement in the discussion was similar to the recent US-Qatar pact that pledged to treat any armed attack on Qatar as a threat to the United States. The US deal with Qatar came after Israel last month tried to kill leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha.
This was reported by the US State Department FT that defense cooperation with the kingdom was a “strong basis for our regional strategy” but declined to comment on the details of the potential deal.
The US State Department, the White House and the Saudi government did not respond to a request Reuters request for comments on FT report.
Last month, Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defense pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan.
Riyadh and Islamabad signed the mutual defense pact on September 17, significantly strengthening a decades-old security partnership, a week after Israel’s attack on Qatar changed the diplomatic calculus in the region.
The agreement states that “any aggression against either country shall be regarded as an aggression against both,” a statement from the prime minister’s office and the state-run Saudi Press Agency had mentioned.
“This agreement … aims to develop aspects of defense cooperation between the two countries and strengthen the joint deterrence against any aggression,” the statement said.
The agreement was signed by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Riyadh, where Pakistan’s top official was accorded a warm welcome.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump vowed to treat any armed attack on Qatar as a threat to America’s own security, according to a document that says US forces could step in to defend the Middle Eastern nation.
Qatar welcomed Trump’s order, describing it as a milestone in strengthening defense ties and bilateral cooperation, its foreign ministry said.
The executive order, which appears to significantly deepen US involvement in Qatar, comes after Israel tried to kill Hamas leaders with an air strike on Doha last month.
This strike, launched at short notice to the Trump administration, caused consternation in Washington given the close US relationship with Qatar, which hosts the largest US military base in the region.
“The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States,” the order said.
“In the event of such an attack, the United States shall take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability.”
The document said top US defense and intelligence officials will maintain contingency planning with Qatar to ensure a quick response to any attack.
