Saudi Arabia Eyes Major Defence Pact with US During Crown Prince’s Upcoming Visit

Saudi Arabia is in advanced discussions with the United States over a defence agreement expected to be signed during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the White House next month, according to a report by the Financial Times.

A senior official from the Trump administration confirmed that both sides are exploring the possibility of signing a formal document during the visit, though “the details are still in flux.”

The proposed deal is said to mirror the recently signed US-Qatar defence pact, under which Washington pledged to consider any armed attack on Qatar as a threat to the United States itself. That agreement came shortly after Israel’s alleged attempt to target Hamas leaders in Doha through an airstrike last month.

The US State Department described its defence cooperation with Saudi Arabia as a “strong bedrock” of its regional strategy but declined to comment on specific details of the pending deal.

The report further noted that Saudi Arabia has long sought security guarantees from Washington, particularly as part of US efforts to push forward normalization between Riyadh and Israel. In a related move, the kingdom last month signed a mutual defence agreement with Pakistan, a nuclear-armed ally.

Analysts see this as a potential milestone that could reshape regional security architecture, tying Saudi Arabia’s defence framework more directly to Washington’s Middle East strategy.