The economic importance of the Middle East to Trump is highlighted by the fact that the visit to Saudi Arabia was due to be the first overseas trip of his second term in the White House. That was before the death of Pope Francis necessitated Trump attending his funeral in Rome towards the end of April.

Damascus courted Donald Trump with a range of incentives, including the potential for a Trump Tower in the Syrian capital, before a meeting between the United States president and his Syrian counterpart.

Trump has reportedly agreed to “say hello” to Sharaa, the rebel leader who led an armed uprising in 2024 to topple Bashar al-Assad’s government, forcing him to flee to Russia. The US president will be