The U.S. has agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, the White House announced Tuesday, as President Donald Trump kicked off his Middle East trip in Riyadh. Described by the Trump administration as "the largest defense cooperation agreement" in history,

The United States agreed on Tuesday to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, according to a White House fact sheet that called it "the largest defense cooperation agreement" Washington has ever done.

Saudi Arabia is of key diplomatic importance to the Trump White House, especially amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Northern Trust Asset Management, Neuberger Berman and I Squared Capital signed preliminary agreements with the roughly $925 billion wealth fund to invest in its efforts to develop a series of new investment strategies focused on Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East and North Africa region.

A British Bank of America analyst has been jailed for 10 years in Saudi Arabia apparently over a since-deleted social media post.

Trump received a warm welcome upon his arrival and was greeted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the airport. Besides the state honours, the Saudi kingdom also ensured the US President's visit was a memorable one by arranging a mobile McDonald's.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have discussed Riyadh's potential purchase of Lockheed's F-35 jets, two sources briefed on discussions told Reuters, referring to a military aircraft that the kingdom has reportedly been interested in for years.

President Donald Trump has met with Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the first such encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years.