Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE warned people that they were working to intercept incoming projectiles, a day after Iran called for the port evacuations, threatening for the first time a neighboring country’s non-U.S. assets.

Iran earlier accused the United States of using “ports, docks and hideouts” in the UAE to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to the main terminal handling Iran’s oil exports, without providing evidence. The UAE and other Gulf countries that host U.S. bases have denied allowing their land or airspace to be used for military operations against Iran.

Iranian strikes have killed at least a dozen civilians in Gulf states, most of them migrant workers. At least 13 members of the U.S. military have been killed since the war began, including seven in combat and six who died in a plane crash over Iraq last week.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he hoped allies would send warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s humanitarian crisis deepened, with over 800 people killed and 850,000 displaced as Israel launched waves of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

Iran says the US attacked from close to Dubai

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the U.S. attacked Kharg Island and Abu Musa Island from two locations in the UAE, Ras Al Khaimah and a place “very close to Dubai,” calling that dangerous and saying Iran “will try to be careful not to attack any populated area” there.

U.S. Central Command said it had no response to Iran’s claim. A diplomatic adviser to the UAE’s president, Anwar Gargash, rejected accusations that the U.S. used its land or air as a base for their attacks on Kharg Island.

Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Arab Gulf neighbors during the war, but it has said it was targeting U.S. assets, even as hits or attempts were reported on civilian ones such as airports and oil fields.

Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz was closed only to “those who are attacking us and their allies.”

Trump urges allies to send warships to Strait of Hormuz

As global anxiety soars over oil prices and supplies, Trump said Saturday that he hopes China, France, Japan, South Korea, the U.K. and others send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz “open and safe.” Britain in response said it was discussing with allies a “range of options” to secure shipping.

Araghchi, in a social media post, urged neighbors to “expel foreign aggressors” and described Trump’s call as “begging.”

On Saturday, Iran’s joint military command reiterated its threat to attack U.S.-linked “oil, economic and energy infrastructures” in the region if the Islamic Republic’s oil infrastructure is hit.

Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency said the Kharg Island strikes caused no damage to oil infrastructure. It said they targeted an air defense facility, a naval base, the airport control tower and an offshore oil company’s helicopter hangar.

U.S. identifies 6 killed in military aircraft crash

The U.S. Department of Defense on Saturday identified six service members who died when the military refueling aircraft they were aboard crashed Thursday while supporting operations against Iran.

The service members were Maj. John A. Klinner, 33; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, according to U.S. officials.

The crash in western Iraq followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” according to U.S. Central Command. The other plane landed safety.

Another attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad

A missile struck a helipad inside the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Saturday. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The embassy complex, one of the largest U.S. diplomatic facilities in the world, has been repeatedly targeted by rockets and drones fired by Iran-aligned militias.

The State Department again warned citizens in Iraq to leave “now,” and by land since commercial flights were not available. It noted that Iran and Iran-aligned militia groups “may continue to target” U.S. citizens, interests and infrastructure.

AP

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Developing nations participating in the BRICS summit on Monday brushed away an accusation from U.S. President Donald Trump that the bloc is “anti-American,” as he threatened them with additional 10% tariffs.

Trump’s threat on Sunday night came as the U.S. government prepared to finalize dozens of trade deals with a range of countries before his July 9 deadline for the imposition of significant “retaliatory tariffs.”

“Tariffs should not be used as a tool for coercion and pressuring,” Mao Ning, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said in Beijing. The BRICS advocates for “win-win cooperation,” she added, and “does not target any country.”

South Africa, which was slapped with 30% tariffs that were later suspended pending trade talks, reaffirmed that it is “not anti-American,” trade ministry spokesman Kaamil Alli said, adding that talks with the U.S. government “remain constructive and fruitful.”

A Kremlin spokesman said Russia’s cooperation with the BRICS was based on a “common world view” and “will never be directed against third countries.”

India and Brazil, which is hosting the BRICS gathering, did not immediately provide an official response to Trump.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told reporters that he would only comment after wrapping up the summit. His opening remarks to BRICS leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro on Monday focused on the environmental and public health issues on the summit’s official agenda.

A Brazilian diplomat who was not authorized to comment officially said Trump’s threat underscored the importance of the BRICS group to give developing nations a way to argue for fair and effective global ground rules on topics such as trade.

Many BRICS members and many of the group’s partner nations are highly dependent on trade with the United States.

New member Indonesia’s senior economic minister, Airlangga Hartarto, who is in Brazil for the BRICS summit, is to the U.S. on Monday to oversee tariff talks, an official told Reuters.

Malaysia, which was attending as a partner country and was slapped with 24% tariffs that were later suspended, said that it maintains independent economic policies and is not focused on ideological alignment.

MULTILATERAL DIPLOMACY

With forums such as the G7 and G20 groups of major economies hamstrung by divisions and Trump’s “America First” approach, the BRICS group has presented itself as a haven for multilateral diplomacy amid violent conflicts and trade wars.

In a joint statement released on Sunday afternoon, leaders at the summit condemned the recent bombing of member nation Iran and warned that the rise in tariffs threatened global trade, continuing its veiled criticism of Trump’s tariff policies.

Hours later, Trump warned he would punish countries seeking to join the group.

The original BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates as members.

Saudi Arabia formally accepting an invitation to full membership, but is participating as a partner country. More than 30 nations have expressed interest in participating in the BRICS, either as full members or partners.

Reuters

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President Donald Trump in a speech in Saudi Arabia urged Iran to take a “new and a better path” as he pushes for a new nuclear deal.

Trump said at the U.S.-Saudi investment conference, during a four-day Middle East trip, that he wants to avoid conflict with Tehran.

“As I have shown repeatedly, I am willing to end past conflicts and forge new partnerships for a better and more stable world, even if our differences may be profound,” Trump said.

The comments came as Trump kick off the Mideast trip on Tuesday with his visit to Saudi capital. The latest entreaty to Tehran comes days after Trump dispatched his special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Iranian officials for a fourth round of talks aimed at persuading Iran to abandon its nuclear program.

“As President of the United States, my preference will always be for peace and partnership, whenever those outcomes can be achieved,” Trump said.

He also said he hopes Saudi Arabia will soon join the Abraham Accords and recognize Israel “in your own time.”

Saudi Arabia long has maintained that recognition of Israel is tied to the establishment of a Palestinian state along the lines of Israel’s 1967 borders. Under the Biden administration, there was a push for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel as part of a major diplomatic deal. However, the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel upended those plans and sent the region into one of the worst period of faces it has faced

In a separate development, the White House announced that Trump will meet Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime insurgent who last year led the overthrow of former leader Bashar Assad.

The U.S. has been weighing how to handle al-Sharaa since he took power in December. Gulf leaders, have rallied behind the new government in Damascus and will want Trump to follow, believing it is a bulwark against Iran’s return to influence in Syria, where it had helped prop up Assad’s government during a decade-long civil war.

Trump also signed a host of economic and bilateral cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to kicked off a four-day Middle East trip with a focus on dealmaking with a key Mideast ally.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi de facto ruler, warmly greeted Trump as he stepped off Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport. The two leaders then retreated to a grand hall at the Riyadh airport, where Trump and his aides were served traditional Arabic coffee by waiting attendants wearing ceremonial gun belts.

“I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump said later during a brief appearance with the crown prince at the start of a bilateral meeting.

They later signed more than a dozen agreements to increase cooperation between their governments’ militaries, justice departments and cultural institutions. Additional economic agreements were expected to be inked later Tuesday at a U.S.-Saudi investment conference convened for the occasion.

Prince Mohammed has already committed to some $600 billion in new Saudi investment in the U.S., but Trump teased $1 trillion would be even better.

Fighter jet escort

The pomp began before Trump even landed. Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s provided an honorary escort for Air Force One as it approached the kingdom’s capital — an exceptionally rare sight.

Trump and Prince Mohammed also took part in a formal greeting and lunch at the Royal Court at Al Yamamah Palace, gathering with guests and aides in an ornate room with blue and gold accents and massive crystal chandeliers.

As he greeted business titans with Trump by his side, Prince Mohammed was animated and smiling.

It was a stark contrast to his awkward fist bump with then-President Joe Biden, who looked to avoid being seen on camera shaking hands with the prince during a 2022 visit to the kingdom.

Biden had decided to pay a visit to Saudi Arabia as he looked to alleviate soaring prices at the pump for motorists at home and around the globe. At the time, Prince Mohammed’s reputation had been badly damaged by a U.S. intelligence determination that found he had ordered the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

But that dark moment appeared to be distant memory for the prince as he rubbed elbows with high-profile business executives — including Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — in front of the cameras and with Trump by his side.

Later, the crown prince will fete Trump with an intimate state dinner at Ad-Diriyah, a UNESCO heritage site that is the birthplace of the first Saudi state and the site of a major development project championed by the crown prince.

Oil production

Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC+ nations have already helped their cause with Trump early in his second term by stepping up oil production. Trump sees cheap energy as a key component to lowering costs and stemming inflation for Americans. The Republican president has also made the case that lower oil prices will hasten an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

But Saudi Arabia’s economy remains heavily dependent on oil, and the kingdom needs a fiscal break-even oil price of $96 to $98 a barrel to balance its budget. It’s questionable how long OPEC+, of which Saudi Arabia is the leading member, is willing to keep production elevated. The price of a barrel of Brent crude closed Monday at $64.77.

Qatar and UAE next

Trump picked the kingdom for his first stop, because it has pledged to make big investments in the U.S., but he ended up traveling to Italy last month for Pope Francis’ funeral. Riyadh was the first overseas stop of his first term.

The three countries on Trump’s itinerary — Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — are places where the Trump Organization, run by Trump’s two oldest sons, is developing major real estate projects. They include a high-rise tower in Jeddah, a luxury hotel in Dubai and a golf course and villa complex in Qatar.

Trump is trying to demonstrate that his transactional strategy for international politics is paying dividends as he faces criticism from Democrats who say his global tariff war and approach to Russia’s war on Ukraine are isolating the U.S. from allies.

He’ll announce deals at all three stops during Mideast swing, initiatives that will touch on artificial intelligence, expanding energy cooperation and perhaps new arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The administration this month announced initial approval to sell $3.5 billion worth of air-to-air missiles for Saudi Arabia’s fighter jets.

But Trump arrived in the Middle East when his top regional allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, are far from neatly aligned with his approach.

Trump’s decision to skip Israel remarkable, expert says

Before the trip, Trump announced Washington was halting a nearly two-month U.S. airstrike campaign against Yemen’s Houthis, saying the Iran-backed rebels have pledged to stop attacking ships along a vital global trade route.

The administration didn’t notify Israel — which the Houthis continue to target — of the agreement before Trump publicly announced it. It was the latest example of Trump leaving the Israelis in the dark about his administration’s negotiations with common adversaries.

In March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t notified by the administration until after talks began with Hamas about the war in Gaza. And Netanyahu found out about the ongoing U.S. nuclear talks with Iran only when Trump announced them during an Oval Office visit by the Israeli leader last month.

“Israel will defend itself by itself,” Netanyahu said last week following Trump’s Houthi truce announcement. “If others join us — our American friends — all the better.”

AP

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Explosions and fires rocked Sudan’s main port city and wartime capital Port Sudan on Tuesday, a witness said, part of a days-long drone assault that has torched the country’s biggest fuel depot, damaging the most important gateway for foreign aid.

A massive column of black smoke billowed from the area around the port, a Reuters video showed, and the witness said blasts had been heard from other areas though it was not clear exactly where else had been hit.

Sudan’s electricity company said a substation in the city was also hit, causing a complete power outage, part of a systematic assault on infrastructure.

Port Sudan had enjoyed relative calm since the civil war suddenly erupted in April 2023, becoming the base for the army-aligned government after the Sudanese armed forces lost control of much of the capital Khartoum at the start of the conflict to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced people have also sought refuge in the city, where U.N. officials, diplomats and agencies have also set up headquarters, making it the main base for aid operations in what the U.N. has called the world’s biggest humanitarian disaster.

Port Sudan’s import and storage depots supply fuel across the country and the destruction of its facilities risks a major crisis, throttling aid deliveries by road and hitting electricity production and cooking gas supplies.

The attacks, which began on Sunday, open a new front in the conflict, targeting the army’s main stronghold in eastern Sudan after it drove the RSF back westwards across much of central Sudan, including Khartoum, in March.

Military sources have blamed the paramilitary RSF for the attacks on Port Sudan since Sunday, though the group has not yet claimed any responsibility for the strikes.

On Sunday drones struck a military base in the area near Sudan’s only functioning international airport, and on Monday they targeted the city’s fuel depots. One of the targets was a major hotel near the residence of Sudan’s military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, witnesses said.

The attacks came after a military source said the army had destroyed an aircraft and weapons depots in the RSF-controlled Nyala airport in Darfur, the main stronghold of the paramilitary group.

CONDEMNATION

The attacks have drawn condemnation from neighbouring Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as expressions of concern from the United Nations.

Sudan’s army-aligned government has accused the United Arab Emirates of backing the RSF, accusations that U.N. experts have found credible. The UAE has denied backing the RSF and the International Court of Justice on Monday said it could not rule in a case in which the government accused the UAE of fueling genocide.

The war, triggered by a dispute over a transition to civilian rule, has displaced over 12 million people and pushed half the population into acute hunger, according to the United Nations.

With the army’s success in pushing the RSF out of most of central Sudan, the paramilitary has shifted tactics from ground incursions to drone attacks targeting power stations and other facilities deep in army-controlled territory.

The army has continued air strikes in the Darfur region, the RSF’s stronghold. The two forces continue to fight ground battles for control of al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur state, and elsewhere as the battle lines in the war harden into distinct zones of control.

Reuters

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Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties, the two countries’ top diplomats said after talks that reflected an extraordinary about-face in U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump.

In an interview with The Associated Press after the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two sides agreed broadly to pursue three goals: to restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks and to explore closer relations and economic cooperation.

He stressed, however, that the talks — which were attended by his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and other senior Russian and U.S. officials — marked the beginning of a conversation, and more work needs to be done.

Lavrov echoed Rubio’s remarks and told reporters that “the conversation was very useful.”

“We not only listened, but also heard each other,” he said.

Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Waltz, and special Mideast envoy Steven Witkoff joined Rubio at the table, along with Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov.

No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting, which came as the beleaguered country is slowly but steadily losing ground against more numerous Russian troops in a grinding war that began nearly three years ago.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country would not accept any outcome from the talks since Kyiv didn’t take part, and he postponed his own trip to the kingdom scheduled for Wednesday.

European allies have also expressed concerns that they are being sidelined.

Ties between Russia and the U.S. have fallen to their lowest level in decades in recent years — a rift that has been widening ever since Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and only worsened after Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

The U.S., along with European nations, imposed a raft of sanctions on Russia in an effort to damage its economy. And embassies in Washington and Moscow have been hit hard by expulsions of large numbers of diplomats, as well as other restrictions.

Rubio said Tuesday that ending the war in Ukraine could “unlock the door” for “incredible opportunities that exist to partner with the Russians geopolitically on issues of common interest and, frankly, economically on issues that hopefully will be good for the world and also improve our relations in the long term.”

His comments were further evidence of the remarkable U.S. reversal on Russia after years in which Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, led international efforts to isolate Moscow.

Tuesday’s meeting was meant to pave the way for a summit between Trump and Putin. After the talks ended, Ushakov and Waltz said no date has been set yet for that summit. Ushakov told Russian television that a meeting was “unlikely” to take place next week, while Waltz said he thought it could be arranged in the coming weeks.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Lavrov mentioned the same three goals as Rubio and said that Washington and Moscow agreed to appoint representatives to carry out “regular consultations” on Ukraine.

“I have reason to believe that the American side has started to better understand our position” the Russian foreign minister said.

Witkoff said the meeting was “positive, upbeat, constructive. Everybody was there to get to the right outcome.”

The meeting marked the most extensive contact between the two countries since Moscow’s Feb. 24, 2022, invasion. Lavrov and then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked briefly on the sidelines of a G-20 meeting in India nearly two years ago, but tensions remained high.

The recent U.S. diplomatic blitz on the war has sent Ukraine and key allies scrambling to ensure a seat at the table amid concerns that Washington and Moscow could press ahead with a deal that won’t be favorable to them.

Kyiv’s absence at Tuesday’s talks rankled many Ukrainians, and France called an emergency meeting of European Union countries and the U.K. on Monday to discuss the war. Kyiv’s participation in such talks was a bedrock of U.S. policy under Biden.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the talks were aimed at determining how serious the Russians are about achieving peace and whether detailed negotiations can start.

Rubio said Tuesday that there would be “engagement and consultation with Ukraine, with our partners in Europe and others. But ultimately, the Russian side will be indispensable to this effort.”

Rubio also said ending the conflict would require concessions from all sides and that Washington “is not going to predetermine” would those concessions would be.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that NATO membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and suggested Kyiv should abandon hopes of winning all its territory back from Russia — two key items on Putin’s wish list.

Waltz said “the practical reality is that there is going to be some discussion of territory, and there’s going to be a discussion of security guarantees.”

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said he spoke by phone to Trump and Zelenskyy following Monday’s European meeting.

“We seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine,” Macron wrote on social media platform X. “To achieve this, Russia must end its aggression, and this must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians,” he said and vowed to “work on this together with all Europeans, Americans, and Ukrainians.”

The meeting at the Diriyah Palace in the Saudi capital of Riyadh also highlighted de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to be a major diplomatic player, burnishing a reputation severely tarnished by the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi state media described the talks as happening at the prince’s direction. Like the neighboring United Arab Emirates, the prince has maintained close relations to Russia throughout its war on Ukraine, both through the OPEC+ oil cartel and diplomatically as well.

Saudi Arabia has also helped in prisoner negotiations and hosted Zelenskyy for an Arab League summit in 2023.

But Zelenskyy postponed his own trip to Saudi Arabia scheduled for this week, suggesting that he wanted to avoid his visit being linked to the talks since Ukrainian officials weren’t invited. He visit was rescheduled for March 10.

Meanwhile, Russia continued to pummel Ukraine with drones, according to Kyiv’s military. The Ukrainian air force said Russian troops launched a barrage of 176 drones at Ukraine overnight, most of which were destroyed or disabled by jamming.

One Russian drone struck a residential building in Dolynska in the Kirovohrad region, wounding a mother and her two children and prompting an evacuation of 38 apartments, the regional administration reported. Four more residential buildings were damaged by drone debris in the Cherkasy region of Ukraine, according to local officials.

AP

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Norway’s soccer federation plans to abstain from giving its approval when Saudi Arabia is confirmed Wednesday as the 2034 World Cup host, saying FIFA has done too little to protect human rights around the tournament.

“FIFA’s own guidelines for human rights and due diligence have also not been adequately integrated into the process, increasing the risk of human rights violations,” Norway federation president Lise Klaveness said in a statement Tuesday.

FIFA’s 211 member federations are holding an online meeting on Wednesday to rubberstamp the decision to give Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup and award the 2030 edition to a six-nation project led by Spain, Portugal and Morocco that will see games played on three continents.

“(Wednesday’s) vote is not about who gets the 2030 and 2034 World Cups — that has already been decided,” Klaveness said, adding that FIFA’s approval without an itemized vote “does not align with the principles of a sound and predictable governance system.”

FIFA shaped the contests last year to have just one bid each that faced limited outside scrutiny, as the soccer body and its president Gianni Infantino continued to build deeper financial and political ties to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has a massive construction plan for stadiums, hotels and transport for the World Cup set to rely heavily on migrant labor – raising concerns that FIFA is inviting a repeat of intense challenges and fatalities faced by workers in Qatar during preparations to host the 2022 edition. Norway and Klaveness also put pressure on FIFA and Qatar before that tournament.

FIFA’s in-house evaluation of the Saudi bid rated the tournament an elevated risk though with “significant opportunities for positive human rights impact,” which activists claimed was a whitewash.

A FIFA-mandated Saudi report on human rights was commissioned from a legal firm closely tied to the kingdom, and it committed World Cup organizers only to work with state-approved domestic agencies plus the UN-backed International Labor Organization.

The ILO in Geneva, which worked with Qatar to reform the “kafala” system of labor rules, is currently investigating a formal complaint alleging abuses in Saudi Arabia filed by the global trade union Building and Wood Workers’ International.

Switzerland’s soccer federation said Tuesday it will support FIFA’s 2030-2034 decisions, but noted “some vagueness on certain points” of the Saudi strategy to protect rights and freedoms.

“We consider it the duty of FIFA and the organizers, in cooperation with renowned independent international organizations” beyond the ILO, Swiss federation president Dominique Blanc said, “to look closely, observe and monitor whether commitments and promises made to workers, teams, fans and media professionals are upheld.”

Ultimately, the Swiss soccer body said, it believed FIFA and World Cup organizers in Saudi Arabia “have learned the lessons from Qatar.”

However, FIFA has ignored advice to compensate workers in Qatar and their families, given by a panel of rights experts appointed last year under pressure from European soccer officials including Norway.

FIFA withheld the panel’s report for almost a year until publishing it Nov. 30, two days after announcing a 2022 World Cup legacy fund of $50 million that that does not give anything directly to the workers. The money is going to charity projects linked to UN agencies.

“The lack of predictability and open processes challenges trust in FIFA as the global custodian of football,” Klaveness said.

AP

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The Trump Organization said Monday it has leased its brand to two new real estate projects in Saudi Arabia just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

It will partner with Dar Global, a London-based luxury real estate developer that will lease the Trump brand but fully own and develop the projects in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The two have partnered on other projects in the region, including the development of a golf resort in neighboring Oman.

“Following the remarkable success of Trump International Oman, as well as our most recent ventures in Dubai and Jeddah, we are thrilled to announce two additional projects in Riyadh,” Eric Trump, the president-elect’s son who oversees the company’s real estate interests, said in a statement.

Trump’s company struck many real estate licensing deals overseas before he entered the White House in 2017, including for hotels and residential towers in Canada, Dubai, Mexico, India and Turkey.

Trump’s close ties to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and day-to-day ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, drew heavy criticism after the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi columnist for the Washington Post who had written critically about the monarchy.

Trump’s son-in-law and former senior aide, Jared Kushner, has also drawn scrutiny from Democrats for a reported $2 billion investment from a Saudi sovereign wealth fund for his investment fund, which he started after he left the White House. Kushner had served as Trump’s point man for the Middle East and helped broker the 2020 Abraham Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Dar Global is the international arm of Dar Al Arkan, a large Saudi developer. It says it has $7.5 billion worth of projects under development in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, the United Kingdom, Spain and Saudi Arabia.

AP

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