Donald Trump will touch down in Saudi Arabia this week for the first official foreign tour since he returned to the White House, with high expectations of securing a raft of multibillion-dollar deals. The biggest one of all, however, is likely to elude him.
The US president has made no secret of the fact that the lure of petrodollars from oil-rich Gulf states is the prime motivation for his visit, which will include stops in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Many of the US’s most powerful executives, including Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Larry Fink, are also expected to head to Riyadh.
But Trump is unlikely to achieve the goal he yearns for: a grand bargain that would lead to Saudi Arabia normalising relations with Israel, as its escalating 19-month war against Hamas in Gaza roils the region.