Kushner Met MBS as US-Saudi Defense Pact Negotiations Intensify

U.S. and Saudi officials are finalizing a broad defense pact ahead of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s White House visit on November 18, 2025, including a previously unreported weekend meeting between Jared Kushner and MBS in Riyadh, Axios reports. The agreement would provide Saudi Arabia with a “Qatar-plus” security guarantee, stopping short of a Senate-ratified treaty but pledging U.S. defense against attacks.
Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former senior adviser, traveled to Saudi Arabia over the weekend to meet with MBS, discussing Gaza and other regional issues, according to sources familiar with the meeting. The visit comes as both nations negotiate a weapons package that reportedly includes dozens of F-35 fighter jets and enhanced intelligence cooperation.
The Oval Office meeting will mark MBS’s first U.S. visit since the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence assessed he approved. The trip represents “ultimate validation” for the 40-year-old crown prince, who sees himself as leader of the Arab and Muslim world.
The defense pact model follows September’s executive order granting Qatar a unilateral security commitment, which State Department lawyers said is “on par with mutual defense commitments” to closest allies. Unlike NATO, this agreement can be revoked by future administrations. Saudi Arabia had sought such guarantees during Biden’s presidency, but negotiations collapsed after October 7 attacks.
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman visited Washington this week to prepare for the summit, meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The nations also discussed resuming Israel-Saudi normalization talks, though Riyadh maintains its demand for concrete steps toward Palestinian statehood as a precondition.
The agreement could finalize weapons deals first announced during Trump’s May Riyadh visit, including a $142 billion arms package. However, human rights groups warn a defense pact with MBS would be “unnecessary, risky, and unlikely to achieve its unclear aims,” citing the Khashoggi murder and Saudi Arabia’s brutal crackdown on dissent.
Critics note Kushner’s private equity firm received $2 billion from Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund, creating potential conflicts of interest. The talks reflect Trump’s strategy of using security guarantees to align Gulf partners with U.S. priorities and counter China’s growing influence in the region.