Trump inks $142B arms deal with Saudi Arabia, part of $600B investment package

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Trump signed off on the largest defense sales agreement in history, worth $142 billion, on his first full day in Saudi Arabia Tuesday — part of a series of bilateral deals worth $600 billion in investments.In remarks to business leaders, the president pitched Saudi Arabia as the key to building peace and prosperity in the Middle East, contrasting the kingdom with the nuclear intransigence of Iran.“Exactly eight years ago this month, I stood in this very room and looked forward to a future in which the nations of this region would drive out the forces of terrorism and extremism, and take your place among the proudest, most prosperous, most successful nations of the world—as leaders of a modern and rising Middle East,” Trump said after taking the stage to his signature theme tune, Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless The USA”Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known widely as MBS, had promised Trump that the Kingdom would facilitate deals worth $600 billion if the president would make Saudi Arabia his first foreign stop in his second administration — and the two were openly chummy before signing the memorandums at the Royal Court in Riyadh, with Trump joking at one point that they should make the investments worth an even $1 trillion.“Are we doing a good job so far for America? They’re only putting in a trillion dollars,” Trump told reporters while touring the investment forum exhibits before his speech.The $142 billion defense agreement calls for the US to give the Saudis “state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services from over a dozen U.S.

defense firms,” per a White House readout.The deal will focus on air force advancement and space capabilities; air and missile defense; maritime and coastal security; border security and land forces modernization and communication systems upgrades.The US makes “the best military equipment, the best missiles, the best rockets the best everything,” Trump told investor...