May 13, 2025 – US President Donald Trump’s Middle East trip

• Trump in Riyadh: The Trump administration signed several new agreements with Saudi Arabia today, including on military cooperation, as President Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought to highlight the countries’ close ties.

• Trump remarks at forum: Trump praised Middle Eastern leaders in a speech at an investment forum, while also indicating Saudi Arabia may join the Abraham Accords and issuing a stark message to Iran amid nuclear negotiations. The president also announced plans to lift sanctions on Syria following the fall of the Assad regime, a move that he said will “give them a chance at greatness.”

• Upcoming visits: Trump is expected to informally greet Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Riyadh on Wednesday before he departs for Doha, Qatar. Trump is also expected to travel to the United Arab Emirates later this week as part of his first major international trip of his second term.

Our live coverage of Donald Trump’s presidency has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or read through the posts below.

President Donald Trump said in an interview that aired today on Fox News that he is “all for Iran” but added that the nation “won’t be a nuclear power.”

The president’s comments come as members of his administration have spent numerous weeks participating in high-stakes nuclear talks between Iran and the US.

The talks this past weekend were aimed at addressing Tehran’s nuclear program and lifting sanctions. That they are happening at all is something of a breakthrough — the talks are the highest-level between the two countries in years — but signs of firm progress are slim.

Both countries have expressed a willingness to resolve their disputes through diplomacy. A central issue remains Iran’s demand to continue enriching uranium for its nuclear program, which it insists is peaceful, something the US calls a “red line.”

Trump, who is in the Middle East this week, has threatened that the US would resort to military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites, with Israel’s help, should Tehran fail to reach a deal with its interlocutors.

President Donald Trump suggested that Qatar approached him with the possibility of gifting a luxury jet replacement for Air Force One, claiming that one Qatari official said: “If I can help you, let me do that.”

The president’s remarks come after he announced Sunday night on social media that the Defense Department plans to accept a Boeing 747-8 jet to replace Air Force One as a “GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE.”

As CNN has previously reported, converting the luxury jet gifted by Qatar to Trump could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and it could take up two years to install the necessary security equipment, communications and defensive capabilities for it to be safely used by the commander in chief.

President Donald Trump suggested he “could see” himself negotiating with China’s President Xi Jinping directly on the final contours of a trade deal.

He continued: “We were close to a deal but we needed one point or two points, on pork and ethanol. OK, two very different subjects, and I called up the prime minister, who’s an excellent man, Keir (Starmer), excellent man. And within about three minutes it was over. We made the deal. It was a good deal for everybody.”

Speaking in the Oval Office alongside Trump and members of his Cabinet, British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson said Trump called United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a “very typical, 11th-hour intervention.”

A federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration must provide greater notice to migrants in her district who are being targeted for removal under the Alien Enemies Act.

But the decision from US District Judge Stephanie Haines, an appointee of President Donald Trump, nonetheless represents a win for the president as he seeks to use the sweeping wartime authority to speed up deportations of migrants accused of being members of a Venezuelan gang.

Haines, who sits in the Western District of Pennsylvania, said the proclamation Trump issued earlier this year invocating the 1798 law “is in step with the AEA” – a ruling that is now at odds with how other judges, including another Trump appointee, have reviewed Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act.

Haines said that the 12 hours the administration has been giving migrants targeted under the law to say whether they plan to challenge their removals in court is “constitutionally deficient” and ordered officials to provide migrants targeted under the law who are in her part of the state with 21-days’ notice “and an ‘opportunity to be heard’” before they’re deported.

That notice, the judge said, must be provided in both English and Spanish and should “clearly” say that they’re being removed under the Alien Enemies Act.

The ruling from Haines is key because within her district is a hub for immigration detainees for the northeastern US. The case was brought by attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a Venezuelan national being held at an ICE processing center in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania.

An attorney for the migrant – identified in court papers as A.S.R. – said that they would appeal Haines’ ruling.

Retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said Tuesday it would be “unfortunate” if Americans lost faith in or defied the federal judiciary, but he said he remains optimistic the rule of law will continue to be honored.

Breyer avoided any direct mention of President Donald Trump, who has openly criticized judges who have ruled against him and has signed executive orders attempting to punish law firms that have taken his perceived opponents as clients. In fact, Breyer’s remarks came in the context of an address he said he gave to law students 25 years ago after the Supreme Court’s controversial decision in Bush v. Gore.

“I mean, my God, if people really didn’t follow the courts,” he said, without finishing the thought.

During a brief gaggle after today’s veterans-focused town hall in Iowa, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was asked by a reporter if he noticed any signs of cognitive decline in former President Joe Biden during his time in the Cabinet.

“Every time I needed something from him, from the West Wing, I got it,” he said, pointing to their time working together to address the collapse of the Baltimore bridge.

At the same time, Buttigieg said “maybe” when asked if the party would have been better off if Biden hadn’t run for re-election.

“Right now, with the benefit of hindsight, I think most people would agree that that’s the case,” he said. “We’re also not in a position to wallow in hindsight.”

Buttigieg also responded to claims by his successor that current air traffic problems were caused by the Biden administration. Buttigieg said the Biden administration expanded the air traffic control workforce.

“My successor is not, of course, asking me for advice, but my advice would be to focus on making sure that it grows,” he said.

On 2028 speculation, Buttigieg said he’s not running for anything right now, but campaigning for ideas and values.

Buttigieg’s appearance in Iowa today was part of a campaign-like appearance in Cedar Rapids for a veterans-focused town hall hosted by VoteVets — a group that aims to elect progressives who’ve served.

Senior Trump administration officials are confident that the Supreme Court will put an end to nationwide injunctions that allow a single judge to block a policy for the entire country.

The issue will be at the center of arguments before the high court Thursday in an appeal challenging rulings that have blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship.

“We’re hoping the Supreme Court will step in and really, kind of, put an end to the practice,” a senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Solicitor General John Sauer, who successfully argued before the Supreme Court in favor of presidential immunity when he was Trump’s personal attorney, will argue the case for the administration.

The thrust of his argument is that that courts are thwarting the power of the legislative and executive branches by blocking policies for the whole country – including districts that have not opposed the policy.

“Nationwide injunctions, universal injunctions issued by district court judges have fundamentally, and they continue to fundamentally, thwart the president’s ability to implement his agenda,” the official said.

The official said Trump’s policies have been blocked 39 times in the last four months, and he points out 35 of them all come from the same judicial district.

“What we’ve seen in the last four months is absolutely astonishing.”

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made a campaign-like appearance at a town hall in Cedar Rapids today, where he blasted the Trump administration, alluded to his past presidential run and took questions on what Democrats should do to rebuild their brand.

Buttigieg, a former intelligence officer in the Navy Reserves who deployed to Afghanistan, visited Iowa for a veterans-focused town hall hosted by VoteVets — a group that aims to elect progressives who’ve served.

But his appearance in the former early primary state also brought to mind his 2020 presidential run and questions about a possible 2028 campaign. That speculation was fueled by his decision this year to pass on running in Michigan’s open governor and Senate races.

Buttigieg leaned into the presidential buzz early. He referenced his 2020 campaign — and his narrow win in the Iowa caucuses — soon after he took the stage.

Buttigieg ripped into President Donald Trump, criticizing the president over the tariff war, his consideration of accepting a plane from Qatar as a gift, and his Cabinet’s use of Signal to discuss military operations. He also leaned into the importance of American democracy and Democrats’ efforts to push back on actions by the administration they say encroach on it.

After brief remarks, Buttigieg took questions from the audience on attacks on transgender rights, due process and habeus corpus, how Democrats can rebuild trust and veterans’ issues.

Several Republican senators have expressed misgivings about the Trump administration’s plans to accept a Qatari jet for the president to eventually use as Air Force One, noting the potential for security and legal risks.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn told CNN that he assumes President Donald Trump has “good legal advice” so he’s not worried about the constitutionality of accepting the free plane, but he added, “I do have concerns about the security issues, even though it was built by Boeing, and it’s now down in San Antonio, my hometown.”

“I just know that our adversaries are pretty creative at planting all sorts of listing devices and other sensors. So, I’d be very concerned about that,” he said.

South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, compared the jet to a Trojan horse.

“This aircraft is beautiful, and it would be great if we could accept it, but security concerns are also there,” he said.

When pressed on whether the jet would violate the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, which bans foreign payments to a sitting US president, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said “I think that’s exactly the question that needs to be asked, to determine if it is a violation.”

She said, “When you get something of that value from a country, one typically thinks that there’s something in it for the country that is offering it. So I think there’s certainly a lot of questions.”

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune continued to downplay the potential use of a Qatari jet for Air Force One as a “hypothetical,” but insisted there will be “plenty of scrutiny” if the plan goes through.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also weighed in on the Qatari jet, saying Trump should “do a careful check for security concerns.” He added that the gift was not unconstitutional because it is “effectively, a gift to the United States, not to the President as an individual.”

This post has been updated with additional details.

Reactions from the Arab world and the US began to pour in Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced that he plans to lift sanctions on Syria, a significant win for the country’s new government after the fall of the Assad regime last year.

Meanwhile, social media videos showed jubilant crowds in the streets. In Homs, people were seen wielding Syrian and Saudi Arabian flags as the crowd chanted: “Hail Saudi Arabia, hail Saudi Arabia! Hail Salman, hail Salman!” in apparent reference to the Saudi king.

Here’s what leaders and officials around the world are saying:

Syria’s Ministry of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs described the move in a post on X as “a radical U-turn to the people of Syria as we strive to get through a long, painful chapter of war,” calling it “an active opportunity for Syria to strive toward stability and self-sustainability.”

Syria’s economy and trade minister, Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar, shed tears live on air with Saudi outlet Al Arabiya, as he underscored that Syria is “now entering a new phase.”

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun expressed similar sentiments in social media posts, with each conveying an “appreciation” for the announcement.

The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, also welcomed the announcement, saying the lifting of sanctions is imperative to allow the delivery of essential services.

Stateside, the top senators on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — RepublicanJim Risch and DemocratJeanne Shaheen — had encouraged the move before Trump’s trip. Shaheen said in a statement Tuesday she is “encouraged by the President’s announcement to move expeditiously and am in touch with the State Department and NSC to make sure this long-awaited window of opportunity does not close for Syria.”

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, offered a more reserved response, saying, “I am very inclined to support sanctions relief for Syria under the right conditions. However, we must remember that the current leadership in Syria achieved its position through force of arms, not through the will of its people.”

CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to reflect that crowds celebrating the US lifting of sanctions against Syria were cheering the Saudi king.

Converting a luxury jet gifted by Qatar to President Donald Trump into a replacement for Air Force One could potentially cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and it could take up two years to install the necessary security equipment, communications and defensive capabilities for it to be safely used by the commander in chief, current and former officials told CNN.

Trump exclaimed in a social media post on Sunday that the Defense Department would be receiving a “GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily.”

Even if used temporarily as Trump has said he would, US agencies would need to ensure there were no security vulnerabilities by essentially stripping the aircraft down to its frame and rebuilding it with the necessary communications and security equipment.

That process could take anywhere from several months to two years, the retired senior military official told CNN. Another official familiar with the situation voiced concerns that the White House is not entirely aware of how much work would have to be done on the jet, which will involve multiple intelligence agencies.

Read more about the potential costs.

President Donald Trump has returned to the Ritz-Carlton hotel for the night, wrapping a whirlwind day of more than 12 hours on the ground in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the first stop of his Middle East tour.

From the moment Trump arrived early this morning until the conclusion of a state dinner at Omar bin Saud Palace, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was at the president’s side.

The warm relationship between the two was on display throughout the day. “I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump said of the crown prince, touting their “tremendous relationship” and calling the visit an “honor.”

Before the president heads to Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday, he is set to have a brief morning meeting with the new president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

It is these leaders, a White House official said, whom the president had in mind when he delivered this memorable line during a speech earlier in the day:

President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are attending a state dinner in Dir’iyah, home of the At-Turaif UNESCO world heritage site.

The pair traveled via golf cart from a tour of new construction projects and Dir’iyah’s old city to the state dinner, which is closed to the press.

Video from the trip shows the president and bin Salman traveling in the front row of a golf cart as traditional Saudi music and dancing are performed in the background.

Trump adviser and tech billionaire Elon Musk was also seen getting into a second golf cart.

President Donald Trump spent the day in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he spoke on relations with the Middle East during remarks at a US-Saudi investment forum and signed several agreements with Saudi Arabia’s government.

Catch up below on key moments from Trump’s Tuesday in Saudi Arabia:

Remarks at US-Saudi investment forum: Trump touted the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia, saying “the transformation that has occurred under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed has been truly extraordinary.”

He also expressed his “dream” that Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords — the treaties negotiated during Trump’s first term between several Arab nations and Israel — but indicated that the country would only normalize relations with Israel when it is ready.

He announced that he plans to lift sanctions on Syria following the fall of the Assad regime, which he said will “give them a chance at greatness,” and offered a stark message to Iran as his team remains in negotiations with the country, casting it as a “time to choose” how Iran proceeds as he warned it can “never have a nuclear weapon.”

Signing of several agreements: The Trump administration earlier on Tuesday entered into several new agreements with the government of Saudi Arabia, including on military cooperation. At a formal signing ceremony in a gilded ballroom at Riyadh’s Royal Court, Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed memoranda of understanding, letters of intent, and other executive agreements spanning different government agencies.

$600 billion investment pledge: The White House announced Tuesday that Trump had secured a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the United States, including an expansive defense partnership valued at nearly $142 billion. The agreement represents a new era in US-Saudi relations, reinforcing strategic ties and unlocking immense economic opportunities across critical industries including energy, defense, infrastructure, healthcare, and technology.

What’s expected on Wednesday: Trump will be traveling to Qatar for the next leg of his Middle East trip after meetings in Riyadh. He is expected to informally greet Syria President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Riyadh, a White House official confirmed — a significant moment for US-Syria relations.

Blanket hold on DOJ political nominees: Meanwhile back in the US,Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced he is placing a blanket hold on all Justice Department political nominees until he receives answers on Trump’s plan to accept a jet from the Qatari royal family to be retrofitted as Air Force One.

CNN’s Betsy Klein, Samantha Waldenberg, Alejandra Jaramillo, Morgan Rimmer and Shania Shelton contributed reporting to this post.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Istanbul for potential Thursday talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

“Our people are going to be going there, Marco is going to be going there, others are going to be going,” he said. “And we’ll see if we can get it done.” Trump added.

CNN previously reported Trump’s possible attendance remains an open question that will largely be dictated by whether Putin attends, according to a senior administration official.

Trump floated the idea Monday, saying, “I don’t know where I’m going to be on Thursday, I’ve got so many meetings, but I was thinking about actually flying over there. There’s a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen.”

Whether Trump attends or not, US envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff both plan to be in Istanbul for the talks, the administration official said.

Some context: Zelensky raised the stakes ahead of a potential meeting with Putin on Thursday by saying he wouldn’t hold talks with any Russian representative other than the president himself.

The Kremlin has so far refused to say whether Putin, or anyone else, would go.

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he plans to lift sanctions on Syria following the fall of the Assad regime, which he said will “give them a chance at greatness.”

Trump said in remarks to a Saudi investment forum that he made the decision after discussing it with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Syria, they’ve had their share of travesty, war, killing in many years. That’s why my administration has already taken the first steps toward restoring normal relations between the United States and Syria for the first time in more than a decade,” he said, noting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet with Syria’s foreign minister in Turkey “later this week.”

The Assad regime fell during the Biden administration in December, and the new administration in Syria has hoped that Trump would consider lifting the punishing sanctions on the country.

“The sanctions were brutal and crippling and served as an important — really an important function — nevertheless, at the time. But now it’s their time to shine,” he added. So I say, ‘Good luck, Syria.’ Show us something very special.”

Trump expressed hope that the country’s new government “will hopefully succeed in stabilizing the country in keeping peace.”

New Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa previously founded a militant group known as Jabhat al-Nusra (“the Victory Front” in English), which pledged allegiance to al Qaeda. But in 2016, he broke away from the terror group, according to the US Center for Naval Analyses.

Trump is expected to informally greet al-Sharaa in Riyadh on Wednesday, a White House official confirmed earlier Tuesday.

This post has been updated with more on Trump’s remarks.

A coalition of 20 state attorneys general is suing the Trump administration, challenging requirements tying federal grant funding to state participation in ongoing immigration enforcement efforts.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a news release announcing the legal action on Tuesday, “President Trump doesn’t have the authority to unlawfully coerce state and local governments into using their resources for federal immigration enforcement – and his latest attempt to bully them into doing so is blatantly illegal.”

The collective of top state prosecutors filed two lawsuits in federal court, taking specific aim at conditions they say have been placed on billions of dollars in grants provided by the US Transportation Department and the Department of Homeland Security. In their suits, state officials argue it is Congress, and not the executive branch, that determines federal spending.

The plaintiffs said the grants have nothing to do with immigration, but are instead used for maintaining roadways and airways, counterterrorism efforts, and emergency preparedness.

The coalition suing the administration on Tuesday included California, Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

President Donald Trump expressed his “dream” that Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords — the treaties negotiated during Trump’s first term between several Arab nations and Israel — but indicated that the country would only normalize relations with Israel when it is ready.

Speaking at a Saudi investment forum, Trump lavished praise on Saudi Arabia and its leadership, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he publicly pressured the country to join the agreement, first created in 2020.

“Saudi Arabia — a place I have such respect for, especially over the last fairly short period of time, what you’ve been able to do — will soon be joining the Abraham Accords. I think it will be a tremendous tribute to your country, and will be something that’s really going to be very important for the future of the Middle East,” the president said as the crown prince looked on.

The crown prince, the country’s de facto leader, has stated unequivocally that Riyadh won’t normalize relations with Israel until there is a clear path for Palestinian statehood and a permanent end to the war in Gaza — neither of which appears imminent.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday in remarks in Saudi Arabia that “disaster” is unfolding in the Persian Gulf, before recalling that “they wanted” to name it “Gulf of Iran.”

The president had been planning to have the US begin referring to the gulf as the “Gulf of Arabia” or the “Arabian Gulf.” However, those plans shifted in the days that followed, a source familiar with the talks told CNN, as Iran officials made clear they would vociferously oppose such a move.

Arab nations have long pushed for the Persian Gulf, the body of water off the southern coast of Iran, to be renamed to reflect their countries. But Trump’s comments appear to acknowledge that the move would anger Iranians, who have long pushed for the body of water off the southern cost of their country to continue being referred to as the Persian Gulf.