Trump Names Saudi Arabia “Major Non-NATO Ally,” With Billions in Arms Deals

President Donald Trump announced that he is naming Saudi Arabia as a “major non-NATO ally” on Tuesday, during a White House visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in which the leaders discussed major weapons deals that would allow the country to continue ravaging the Middle East.

This means that Saudi Arabia will benefit from military and economic privileges that are not afforded to other countries. The State Department says the designation is “a powerful symbol of the close relationship the United States shares with those countries and demonstrates our deep respect for the friendship for the countries to which it is extended.” There are 19 other countries under this label, including Israel.

Trump made the announcement at a black tie dinner at the White House with bin Salman, after a splashy red carpet welcome for the human rights abuser earlier that day, with a plane flyover and soldiers parading by on horseback.

“I’m pleased to announce that we are taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally,” Trump said in a statement posted by the White House on X.

“Today is a special day,” said bin Salman, per Politico, at the dinner. “We think the horizon of the economic cooperation between Saudi Arabia and America is bigger and wider in many areas. We’ve been signing a lot of agreements that can open the door to develop the [relationship] deeper in many areas.”

As part of this coordination, Trump said that he is planning to sell dozens of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. Only about 20 countries have or have ordered these warplanes, which cost at least $80 million a piece to manufacture, and still more to maintain.

Military specialists have said that the sale could grant Saudi Arabia more military might in the region, like in its intervention and bombardments of Yemen.

Some said it may erode Israel’s “qualitative military edge” in the Middle East that is required by U.S. law, as first established in 1968 by President Lyndon B. Johnson and upheld by every presidential administration since. Normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel has been a longtime goal of the U.S., however, and bin Salman said that the establishment of a Palestinian state could advance that goal during their meeting.

The White House has also said that Saudi Arabia has pledged to buy nearly 300 tanks from the U.S., “enabling Saudi Arabia to build up its own defense capabilities.”

In return, according to a release from the White House, Saudi Arabia has agreed to invest nearly $1 trillion in the U.S., up from the $600 billion pledged during Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia in May. Experts warned, however, that such a deal is equivalent to Saudi Arabia’s entire economic output in 2023 and may not actually be delivered soon.

Trump’s announcement came after he dismissed bin Salman’s role in the murder of journalist and American permanent resident Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Trump suggested that the journalist, who wrote for The Washington Post, had it coming, saying, “a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman,” and berating the reporter who asked him about Khashoggi. This is in spite of the U.S.’s own intelligence suggesting that bin Salman directly approved of the killing.

Progressive lawmakers have slammed Trump for his warm welcome of bin Salman and his deals with the country long accused of human rights abuses.

“Trump’s disgusting display at a White House reception for MBS — attacking American journalists on MBS’s behalf and warmly embracing the Saudi dictator — marks a new low in longstanding U.S. support for the repressive monarchy,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

“With announced sales of F-35 warplanes and billions in financial investments, Trump is prioritizing weapons-contractor profits and his own family’s business interests, including Jared Kushner’s private equity firm that took $2 billion from MBS,” Omar went on. “After MBS’s consistent use of U.S. arms to devastate Yemen, Congress must do everything in our power to rein in and block Trump’s reckless and corrupt deals.”

“If you’re the royal family of Saudi Arabia, worth $1.4 trillion, Trump rewards your family with F-35 fighter jets after they ordered the murder of a Washington Post journalist,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). “If you’re a 62-year old couple in America whose premiums will quadruple? Tough luck.”