TEHRAN – U.S. President Donald Trump touched down in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in the shadow of unresolved regional predicaments, while also carrying a list of business proposals reportedly tied to both national and personal interests.

Riyadh marks the first stop on the president's three-country tour of Persian Gulf Arab states, which will include Qatar and the UAE as well. Upon arriving in the Saudi capital, Trump was received by the kingdom’s crown prince and de facto leader, Mohammad Bin Salman. After a welcome ceremony featuring spiced Arabic coffee in the Riyadh airport's grand hall, the American delegation then proceeded to Al-Yamamah Palace. There, Bin Salman pledged to invest $600 billion in the U.S. and also purchase an American arms package worth nearly $142 billion.

Trump's trip to West Asia mirrors his first foreign tour during his first term in office—which also included the occupied territories. Trump is likely to tout this one as a victory for the American economy, like he did last time, but back home, some democratic officials are all but incensed. They argue that there appears to be an intersection of Trump's presidential duties and his own business interests.

The Qatari royal family is reportedly donating a $400 million Boeing 747-8 to Trump's presidential library, a gift that would allow him continued use of the plane after leaving office. This, in addition to the Trump family's extensive regional business ventures (skyscrapers, golf courses, and cryptocurrency deals), has amplified Democrats’ rage, who are also wagging their finger at Trump for muddying relationships with traditional American allies like Canada, Europe, and Mexico – typically the first stops for U.S. presidents abroad.

Still, Trump is expected to secure even more "mega" investment deals (as some American media call them) in U.S. energy and manufacturing during his Persian Gulf trip. He also aims to persuade rich Persian Gulf states to buy more U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) and increase their crude oil production.

Geopolitical currents will keep running

The vision Trump presented for West Asia upon his return to the White House in January differs starkly from the reality he is facing today during his short stay in the region.

He had pledged to be a "president of peace," end the war in Gaza, and "crush" the Yemeni forces conducting anti-Israel operations in the Red Sea. Yet, three months later, Israel has unraveled the ceasefire deal Trump helped broker before taking office and intensified its attacks and blockade of food and medicine, with no public condemnation from Washington yet in sight. 

In the Red Sea, the U.S. was forced to retreat and announce a bilateral ceasefire with Ansarullah in Yemen after substantial financial losses and the destruction of expensive drones and fighter jets. Yemen continues to strike Israeli targets, showing no signs of diminished military capability.

Closing the deal on Iran’s nuclear program was also on Trump’s agenda when he was fresh in the office. While he did begin indirect talks with Iran to find a diplomatic solution to the differences between the two countries, it is still unclear whether he would manage to unify his fragmented administration on Iran. Some within his inner circle, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, believe Washington should skip diplomacy and instead attack Iran, a move that would drag Washington into the biggest regional inferno that has existed to date.

While in Saudi Arabia, Trump said he wants to reach an agreement with Iran, but made sure to call it "the biggest and most destructive” force in West Asia before talking about his supposed aspirations. "In the case of Iran, I have never believed in having permanent enemies. I am different than a lot of people think. I don't like permanent enemies ... I want to make a deal with Iran,” Trump told a Riyadh convention hall filled with people. “But if Iran's leadership rejects this olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure, drive Iranian oil exports to zero like I did before.”

The so-called maximum pressure campaign Trump waged against Iran during his first term never shriveled, even during Biden’s occupation of the White House. Furthermore, Analysts believe that Iran’s oil exports have not reached zero, not because the U.S. didn’t want that, but because it could not make it happen. After several decades of sanctions, Tehran has learned how to circumvent them, and one of its biggest allies, China, has said it will continue buying Iranian oil regardless of U.S. pressure.

Trump had already drawn the ire of millions of Iranians before he began his West Asia tour. The Associated Press reported before the president’s arrival that Trump plans to announce the U.S. would now be recognizing the Persian Gulf as the “Arabian Gulf”. The president said last week that he still hasn’t decided on that. He has yet to bring up that topic.

So far, it seems that Trump's visit to West Asia is primarily yielding economic benefits, something he himself may have anticipated. "Trump's main goal during his trip to the region is to collect money for the 'world's biggest economy,' which is becoming penniless by the day,” stated Amir Ali Abolfath, a North American affairs expert. All other issues will remain tangled, he added.