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Trump had heated exchange with MBS over Israel normalization demand: Report

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 26 November 2025 6:33 PM

Donald Trump's meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) grew tense last week after the prince pushed back at the US president's demand that the kingdom formally normalize relations with Israel, a report says.

Citing US officials, Axios reported on Tuesday that Trump and MBS held a "civil but difficult" meeting at the White House on November 18, during which the president pushed hard for Saudi Arabia to join the controversial US-brokered Abraham Accords.

According to Axios, MBS told Trump he could not improve relations with Israel because public sentiment in Saudi Arabia is overwhelmingly anti-Israel following the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

One source told Axios that the conversation was filled with "disappointment and irritation."

"The president really wants them to join the Abraham Accords. He tried very hard to talk him into it. It was an honest discussion. But MBS is a strong man. He stood his ground," the source said.

The "Abraham Accords" established diplomatic ties between Israel and several Arab states, including the UAE and Bahrain, and have been widely criticized as a betrayal of Palestinian rights.

MBS reportedly told Trump that any potential agreement with Israel must include "an irreversible, credible, and time-bound path" towards establishing a Palestinian state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to commit to Palestinian statehood, rejecting even minimal steps towards a political resolution.

The tense exchange, however, underscores Washington's ongoing efforts to pressure Arab governments into normalizing ties with the Israeli regime despite an overwhelming regional opposition. Across the Arab world, normalization is widely condemned as political capitulation in the face of Israel's continued occupation and atrocities.

Military cooperation and advanced weapons sales were also central to the crown prince's visit.

Before MBS arrived in Washington, Axios reported that Israeli officials told Trump the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia must be conditioned on Riyadh normalizing ties with Tel Aviv and abandoning its demand for a Palestinian state.

Following the meeting, Trump announced that he had formally designated Saudi Arabia a "Major Non-NATO Ally" and would move ahead with selling the kingdom F-35 jets "pretty similar" to those used by Israel.

If finalized, the sale of 48 F-35s would mark the first transfer of the advanced aircraft to Saudi Arabia. Until now, Israel has been the only US ally in the region permitted to acquire the stealth fighters.

The move came despite senior Israeli military officials privately urging Washington to block the sale, calling it a "clear and immediate danger." They claimed the deal could undermine Israel's military dominance if Saudi Arabia were ever to "fall into the hands of extremists."