Latest news with #MiddleEastRelations
Telegraph
14-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Trump and Qatar Emir stage love-in amid $400m jet furore
Donald Trump lavished praise on the Emir of Qatar during a meeting in Doha after accepting a $400 million jet from him. Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said the two nations were taking relations to the 'next level' during a press conference on Wednesday. The US president unveiled billions of dollars more in deals and characterised the tiny Gulf nation as a key ally. It marked an important step for the leader of a country that Mr Trump accused of backing terrorism just eight years ago. 'We've been friends for a long time, and this is an outstanding man,' said Mr Trump on Wednesday as he sat beside the Qatari leader at his government palace. 'He's a great man, and we're going to help each other.' Mr Trump arrived in the capital Doha from Saudi Arabia, where he laid out his plans to bring peace to the region and met Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's new leader and a former Al Qaeda commander. He promised to lift sanctions on Syria and described its new president as an 'attractive guy, tough guy.' 'He's got a real shot at holding it together,' he said. Such a meeting would have been unthinkable just a few months ago, and he remains on the US State Department's list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Instead, he is on the receiving end of Mr Trump's flattery and was asked to sign up to the Abraham Accords, normalising relations with Israel. But the trip is more about securing hundreds of billions in investment than addressing regional trouble spots, such as the conflict in Gaza or Iran's nuclear programme. In Doha, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a deal for Qatar Airways to buy 160 planes and for the government to buy $2 billion of armed drones and equipment. 'I think after signing these documents, we are going to another level of relationship between Qatar and the United States,' the Qatari leader said. 'So I just wanted to thank you, Mr President, for this historic visit.' The White House later claimed the pair had agreed more than a trillion dollars in deals. The visit is a golden opportunity for Qatar to capitalise on a charm offensive, as it seeks to build its reputation in Washington. Its most audacious gambit is the offer of the royal family's plane, worth an estimated $400 million, to serve as Air Force One. The offer has exercised US ethics experts and angered some of Mr Trump's most loyal supporters, who warned him against accepting a gift from 'jihadists in suits'. With just 300,000 Qatari citizens (bolstered by foreign workers), it has long been overshadowed by its Saudi and Emirati neighbours. American officials were suspicious of the nation's ties to Iran and to extremist groups. As Mr Trump himself put it in 2017: 'The nation of Qatar has, unfortunately, been a funder of terrorism at a very high level.' Now Mr Trump's administration is making use of its links to the Taliban and to Hamas to pursue talks. His hosts laid on all the trappings of a state visit, along with the sort of touches that would impress Mr Trump on Wednesday. Air Force One flew into Doha with echelons of F-15 fighter jets on each wing. And his motorcade included Tesla Cybertrucks in the red and yellow colours of the Lekhwiya internal security force. 'We are very excited,' the emir told Mr. Trump during a red-carpet ceremony in the government's main offices. 'I know that you want to bring peace to this region.' Earlier in the day, Mr Trump told Gulf leaders he wanted a deal urgently with Iran to shelve its nuclear weapons programme and that Tehran must end its backing for proxy groups in the region. Iran 'must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars, and permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons,' he said. On Thursday, he is expected to visit American troops at the Al Udeid Air Base before flying on to the United Arab Emirates.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Donald Trump compares Qatar plane gift to Statue of Liberty: Live updates
President Donald Trump arrived in Qatar Wednesday amid a controversy about its gift of a new Air Force One and amid hopes he can broker an Israel-Hamas ceasefire. The president is in Doha on day two of his four-day trip to the Middle East, where his focus has been on strengthening U.S. relations with the Arab world. He'll enjoy a state visit with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thanic, who is expected to announce billions in investments in the United States. But Trump's trip also raised questions on where America's relationship with Israel stands and turned the spotlight on Qatar's wealthy royal family and its gift of a 'flying palace' to the president. Trump touches down in Qatar amid controversy over luxury jet gift President Donald Trump arrived in Qatar Wednesday amid a controversy about its gift of a new Air Force One and amid hopes he can broker an Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump touches down in Qatar amid controversy over luxury jet gift and hopes for Gaza ceasefire
President Donald Trump arrived in Qatar Wednesday amid a controversy about its gift of a new Air Force One and amid hopes he can broker an Israel-Hamas ceasefire. The president is in Doha on day two of his four-day trip to the Middle East, where his focus has been on strengthening U.S. relations with the Arab world. He'll enjoy a state visit with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thanic, who is expected to announce billions in investments in the United States. But Trump's trip also raised questions on where America's relationship with Israel stands and turned the spotlight on Qatar's wealthy royal family and its gift of a 'flying palace' to the president. The president argued his trip does not sideline Israel. 'This is good for Israel, having a relationship like I have with these countries; Middle Eastern countries, essentially all of them. I think it's very good for Israel,' he told reporters on Air Force One ahead of his arrival in Doha. And he defended the gift. 'We're the United States of America. I believe that we should have the most impressive plane,' Trump told Fox News. His administration is trying to shift the focus of the Qatar stop to the situation in Gaza. Ahead of Trump's arrival in Doha, a high-level meeting took place with American, Israeli and Palestinian officials to try to broker a peace deal in the war torn region. US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US hostage envoy Adam Boehler were in the talks. Trump, during his first stop in Saudi Arabia, gently nudged the nation to sign on to his Abraham Accords, which call for a normalization of relations with Israel. Discussions on the issue came to a halt after the Gaza war erupted and the kingdom insisted there can be no normalization without Palestinian statehood. Trump said on Tuesday Saudi Arabia would join the accords in its own time. But Israeli hit Gaza hard on Wednesday, killing at least 50 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip in a significant escalation of the bombardment as Trump is in the region. Gaza is experiencing a humanitarian crisis with thousands starving to death due to lack of food and water. Hamas, meanwhile, has been courting Trump, including releasing U.S.-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, the last living U.S. citizen who had been held in Gaza by Hamas since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Trump will not visit Israel during his travels in what was seen as a snub to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Not helping matters are three moves Trump made that disturbed Israel. The president announced, ahead of his trip, that the U.S. would halt its strikes on the Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group in Yemen that agreed to stop its attacks on American vessels in the Red Sea. And Trump met with Syria 's new leader, President Ahmed al-Sharaa, while in Saudia Arabia and announced the U.S. was exploring a 'normalization' of relations with that country. Netanyahu had asked Trump not to lift sanctions on Syria, making the request during his visit to Washington last month, an Israeli official told the Associated Press. Israel is concerned that Syria could launch an attack similar to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, assault. Israel also fears al-Sharaa and his Islamist past could pose a threat on its northern border. Trump encouraged Syria to join the Abraham Accords. Additionally, the Israelis are not happy with Trump's decision to launch negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. The country fears a deal that would not be strict enough to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or rein in its support for regional militant groups. But a controversy closer to home could overshadow Trump's Qatar stop: the royal family's gift of a luxury $400 million 747 that the president wants to use a new Air Force One. The plane would revert to his presidential library once he leaves office and be available or his personal use. Trump has expressed frustration with Boeing's delays in delivering two new 747s designed to serve as the presidential plane. But the gift comes with security fears – it would take millions to give it the necessary security upgrades and it would have to be swept for listening devices. Trump has dismissed concerns about security and allegations he violated ethics rules. There are questions as to whether the gift violates the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which prohibits a federal official from accepting a gift or payment from a foreign government. 'The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME!,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social account Tuesday night. 'It will be used by our Government as a temporary Air Force One, until such time as our new Boeings, which are very late on delivery, arrive. Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done. This big savings will be spent, instead, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country. Thank you for your attention to this matter!,' he wrote. Trump has been criticized - even by some Republicans - for accepting the gift. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday he is putting blanket hold on all Justice Department political nominees as he seeks answers to the administration's decision to accept the luxury plane. Trump, in return, called the senator, who is Jewish, a 'Palestinian.' 'Schumer, you know, he's become a Palestinian. There's something wrong with him. You know, I've known him a long time and there's something wrong. He's lost his confidence, totally. There's just something wrong. I don't know what it is with Schumer,' the president said on Wednesday. Joining Trump on the Qatari leg of his trip is FIFA president Gianni Infantino. The U.S. is hosting the 2026 World Cup. The soccer chief flew with Trump on Air Force One from Saudi to Doha. He preside over a ceremony in which the emir of Qatar will hand World Cup hosting duties to Trump. Meanwhile, the Trump ties to Qatar are getting stronger. His family is personally invested in the country. The Trump business empire announced a new Middle East golf course and real estate project in Qatar in a deal involving a Qatari government-owned firm.
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Trump's Middle East visit comes as his family deepens its business, crypto ties in the region
It's not just the 'gesture' of a $400 million luxury plane that President Donald Trump says he's smart to accept from Qatar. Or that he effectively auctioned off the first destination on his first major foreign trip, heading to Saudi Arabia because the kingdom was ready to make big investments in U.S. companies. It's not even that the Trump family has fast-growing business ties in the Middle East, ones that run deep and offer the potential of vast profits. Instead, it's the idea that the combination of these things and more — deals that show the close ties between a family whose patriarch oversees the U.S. government and a region whose leaders are fond of currying favor through money and lavish gifts — could cause the United States to show preferential treatment to Middle Eastern leaders when it comes to American affairs of state. Before Trump began this week's visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, his sons Eric and Donald Jr. had already traveled the Middle East extensively in recent weeks. They were drumming up business for The Trump Organization, which they are running in their father's stead while he's in the White House. Their travels included Eric Trump announcing plans for a glitzy, 80-story Trump Tower in Dubai, the UAE's largest city. He also attended a recent cryptocurrency conference there with Zach Witkoff, a founder of the Trump family crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, and son of Trump's do-everything envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. 'We are proud to expand our presence in the region,' Eric Trump said last month in announcing that Trump Tower Dubai was set to start construction this fall. The presidential visit to the region as his children work the same part of the world for the family's money-making opportunities puts a spotlight on Trump's willingness to embrace foreign dealmaking as president — even in the face of mounting concerns that doing so could tempt him to shape U.S. foreign policy in ways that benefit his family's bottom line. Nowhere is the potential overlap more prevalent than in the Middle East The Trump family's business interests in the region include a new deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar, partnering with Qatari Diar, a real estate company backed by that country's sovereign wealth fund. The family is also leasing its brand to two new real estate projects in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, in partnership with Dar Global, a London-based luxury real estate developer and subsidiary of private Saudi real estate firm Al Arkan. The Trump Organization has similarly partnered with Dar Global on a Trump Tower set to be built in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and an upcoming Trump International Hotel and luxury golf development in neighboring Oman. During the crypto conference, meanwhile, a state-backed investment company in Abu Dhabi announced it had chosen USD, World Liberty Financial's stablecoin, to back a $2 billion investment in Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Critics say that allows Trump family-aligned interests to essentially take a cut of each dollar invested. Then there's the Saudi government-backed LIV Golf, which has forged close business relationships with the president and hosted tournaments at Trump's Doral resort in South Florida. 'Given the extensive ties between LIV Golf and the PIF, or between Trump enterprises more generally and the Gulf, I'd say there's a pretty glaring conflict of interest here," said Jon Hoffman, a research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute. He was referring to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which has invested heavily in everything from global sports giants to video game maker Nintendo with the aim of diversifying the kingdom's economy beyond oil. Trump further announced in January a $20 billion investment for U.S. data centers promised by DAMAC Properties, an Emirati company led by billionaire Dubai developer Hussain Sajwani. Trump bills that as benefiting the country's technological and economic standing rather than his family business. But Sajwani was a close business partner of Trump and his family since long before the 2016 election. White House bristles at conflict of interest concerns Asked before he left for the Middle East if Trump might use the trip to meet with people tied to his family's business, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was 'ridiculous' to 'suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit.' 'The president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws,' she said. Administration officials have similarly brushed off such concerns about the president's policy decisions bleeding into the business interests of his family by noting that Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children. A voluntary ethics agreement released by the Trump Organization also bars the firm from striking deals directly with foreign governments. But that same agreement still allows deals with private companies abroad — a key departure from Trump's first term, when the organization released an ethics pact prohibiting deals with both foreign governments and foreign companies. The president, according to the second-term ethics agreement, isn't involved in any day-to-day decision-making for the family business. But his political and corporate brands remain inextricably linked. 'The president is a successful businessman,' Leavitt said, "and I think, frankly, that it's one of the many reasons that people reelected him back to this office.' Timothy P. Carney, senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said he doesn't want to see U.S. foreign policy being affected by Trump's feelings about how other countries have treated his family's business. 'Even if he's not running the company, he profits when the company does well,' Carney said. 'When he leaves the White House, the company is worth more, his personal wealth goes up.' Promises of US investment shaped Trump's trip His family business aside, the president wasn't shy about saying he'd shape the itinerary of his first extended overseas trip on quid pro quo. Trump's first stop on this week's trip was Saudi Arabia, just as during his first term. He picked the destination after he said the kingdom had pledged to spend $1 trillion on U.S. companies over four years. The White House has since announced that the actual figure is $600 billion, and how much of that will actually be new investment — or come to fruition — remains to be seen. The president is also stopping in the United Arab Emirates, which has pledged $1.4 trillion in U.S. investments over the next 10 years, and in Qatar, where Trump says accepting the gift of a Boeing 747 from the ruling family is a no-brainer, dismissing security and ethical concerns raised by Democrats and even some conservatives. Trump's Middle East business ties predate his presidencies Trump's first commercial foray in the Middle East came in 2005, during just his second year of starring on 'The Apprentice.' A Trump Tower Dubai project was envisioned as a tulip-shaped hotel to be perched on the city's manmade island shaped like a palm tree. It never materialized. Instead, February 2017 saw the announced opening of Trump International Golf Club Dubai, with Sajwani's DAMAC Properties. Just a month earlier, Trump had said that Sajwani had tried to make a $2 billion deal with him, 'And I turned it down." 'I didn't have to turn it down, because as you know, I have a no-conflict situation because I'm president,' Trump said then. This January, there was a beaming Sajwani standing triumphantly by Trump's side at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, to announce DAMAC's investment in U.S. data centers. 'It's been amazing news for me and my family when he was elected in November,' Sajwani said. 'For the last four years, we've been waiting for this moment.'
Associated Press
14-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Trump's Middle East visit comes as his family deepens its business, crypto ties in the region
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's not just the 'gesture' of a $400 million luxury plane that President Donald Trump says he's smart to accept from Qatar. Or that he effectively auctioned off the first destination on his first major foreign trip, heading to Saudi Arabia because the kingdom was ready to make big investments in U.S. companies. It's not even that the Trump family has fast-growing business ties in the Middle East, ones that run deep and offer the potential of vast profits. Instead, it's the idea that the combination of these things and more — deals that show the close ties between a family whose patriarch oversees the U.S. government and a region whose leaders are fond of currying favor through money and lavish gifts — could cause the United States to show preferential treatment to Middle Eastern leaders when it comes to American affairs of state. Before Trump began this week's visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, his sons Eric and Donald Jr. had already traveled the Middle East extensively in recent weeks. They were drumming up business for The Trump Organization, which they are running in their father's stead while he's in the White House. Their travels included Eric Trump announcing plans for a glitzy, 80-story Trump Tower in Dubai, the UAE's largest city. He also attended a recent cryptocurrency conference there with Zach Witkoff, a founder of the Trump family crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, and son of Trump's do-everything envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. 'We are proud to expand our presence in the region,' Eric Trump said last month in announcing that Trump Tower Dubai was set to start construction this fall. The presidential visit to the region as his children work the same part of the world for the family's money-making opportunities puts a spotlight on Trump's willingness to embrace foreign dealmaking as president — even in the face of mounting concerns that doing so could tempt him to shape U.S. foreign policy in ways that benefit his family's bottom line. Nowhere is the potential overlap more prevalent than in the Middle East The Trump family's business interests in the region include a new deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar, partnering with Qatari Diar, a real estate company backed by that country's sovereign wealth fund. The family is also leasing its brand to two new real estate projects in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, in partnership with Dar Global, a London-based luxury real estate developer and subsidiary of private Saudi real estate firm Al Arkan. The Trump Organization has similarly partnered with Dar Global on a Trump Tower set to be built in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and an upcoming Trump International Hotel and luxury golf development in neighboring Oman. During the crypto conference, meanwhile, a state-backed investment company in Abu Dhabi announced it had chosen USD, World Liberty Financial's stablecoin, to back a $2 billion investment in Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Critics say that allows Trump family-aligned interests to essentially take a cut of each dollar invested. Then there's the Saudi government-backed LIV Golf, which has forged close business relationships with the president and hosted tournaments at Trump's Doral resort in South Florida. 'Given the extensive ties between LIV Golf and the PIF, or between Trump enterprises more generally and the Gulf, I'd say there's a pretty glaring conflict of interest here,' said Jon Hoffman, a research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute. He was referring to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which has invested heavily in everything from global sports giants to video game maker Nintendo with the aim of diversifying the kingdom's economy beyond oil. Trump further announced in January a $20 billion investment for U.S. data centers promised by DAMAC Properties, an Emirati company led by billionaire Dubai developer Hussain Sajwani. Trump bills that as benefiting the country's technological and economic standing rather than his family business. But Sajwani was a close business partner of Trump and his family since long before the 2016 election. White House bristles at conflict of interest concerns Asked before he left for the Middle East if Trump might use the trip to meet with people tied to his family's business, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was 'ridiculous' to 'suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit.' 'The president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws,' she said. Administration officials have similarly brushed off such concerns about the president's policy decisions bleeding into the business interests of his family by noting that Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children. A voluntary ethics agreement released by the Trump Organization also bars the firm from striking deals directly with foreign governments. But that same agreement still allows deals with private companies abroad — a key departure from Trump's first term, when the organization released an ethics pact prohibiting deals with both foreign governments and foreign companies. The president, according to the second-term ethics agreement, isn't involved in any day-to-day decision-making for the family business. But his political and corporate brands remain inextricably linked. 'The president is a successful businessman,' Leavitt said, 'and I think, frankly, that it's one of the many reasons that people reelected him back to this office.' Timothy P. Carney, senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said he doesn't want to see U.S. foreign policy being affected by Trump's feelings about how other countries have treated his family's business. 'Even if he's not running the company, he profits when the company does well,' Carney said. 'When he leaves the White House, the company is worth more, his personal wealth goes up.' Promises of US investment shaped Trump's trip His family business aside, the president wasn't shy about saying he'd shape the itinerary of his first extended overseas trip on quid pro quo. Trump's first stop on this week's trip was Saudi Arabia, just as during his first term. He picked the destination after he said the kingdom had pledged to spend $1 trillion on U.S. companies over four years. The White House has since announced that the actual figure is $600 billion, and how much of that will actually be new investment — or come to fruition — remains to be seen. The president is also stopping in the United Arab Emirates, which has pledged $1.4 trillion in U.S. investments over the next 10 years, and in Qatar, where Trump says accepting the gift of a Boeing 747 from the ruling family is a no-brainer, dismissing security and ethical concerns raised by Democrats and even some conservatives. Trump's Middle East business ties predate his presidencies Trump's first commercial foray in the Middle East came in 2005, during just his second year of starring on 'The Apprentice.' A Trump Tower Dubai project was envisioned as a tulip-shaped hotel to be perched on the city's manmade island shaped like a palm tree. It never materialized. Instead, February 2017 saw the announced opening of Trump International Golf Club Dubai, with Sajwani's DAMAC Properties. Just a month earlier, Trump had said that Sajwani had tried to make a $2 billion deal with him, 'And I turned it down.' 'I didn't have to turn it down, because as you know, I have a no-conflict situation because I'm president,' Trump said then. This January, there was a beaming Sajwani standing triumphantly by Trump's side at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, to announce DAMAC's investment in U.S. data centers. 'It's been amazing news for me and my family when he was elected in November,' Sajwani said. 'For the last four years, we've been waiting for this moment.'
