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United States President Donald Trump will undertake a three-day tour of the Gulf for his first state visit since retaking office in January.

The trip begins in Saudi Arabia, followed by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

It marks Trump’s second foreign visit as president after he attended Pope Francis’s funeral in Rome in April.

Here is what to know about the trip and what is on the agenda:

When and where is Trump visiting?

Trump will fly out of the US on Monday and start his trip in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Tuesday.

He is expected to attend a Gulf summit in the city on Wednesday, visit Qatar later that day and conclude his visit in the UAE on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia was the first country Trump visited during his first term as well, breaking the tradition of US presidents starting with the United Kingdom, Canada or Mexico.

What is on Trump’s agenda?

His objectives are securing major economic deals and making diplomatic progress on issues that impact the region, including a Gaza ceasefire and stalled Saudi-Israel normalisation talks.

The focus on economic deals comes as the US recorded a drop in its economic output in the first quarter, its first in three years.

On Wednesday, Trump said he will also decide during his trip how the US refers to the “Persian Gulf”.

US media reported that he may decide to refer to the body of water as the Arabian Gulf or the Gulf of Arabia.

Saudi Arabia: Normalisation, business deals and weapons

Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said the president wants to expand the Abraham Accords, under which the UAE and Bahrain recognised Israel during Trump’s first term, to include Saudi Arabia.

Talks were reportedly under way on Saudi Arabia joining the accords, but after Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) paused those discussions.

Saudi officials have said they won’t move forward unless there is real progress towards a two-state solution for Palestine, leading to speculation that Trump may propose a US-backed framework to end the war and revive normalisation efforts during this visit.

In a shift from past US policy, the Trump administration has uncoupled discussions on a Saudi nuclear agreement and normalisation with Israel, which US President Joe Biden’s administration had held as a condition for nuclear cooperation.

Riyadh wants US help building a civilian nuclear programme, which Israel has raised concerns about and had wanted it tied to normalisation.

Trump’s main focus will be economic partnerships as he meets with MBS and attends a Saudi-US investment forum. He wants to secure a $1 trillion Saudi investment in US industries, expanding on a $600bn pledge made by the crown prince earlier this year.

Saudi Arabia is also expected to announce more than $100bn in US arms purchases, including missiles, radar systems and transport aircraft.

Other key issues include reviving a scaled-down US-Saudi defence pact.

UAE: Investment in the US and cooperation on tech goals

In the UAE, Trump is to meet with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss investment opportunities in sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, energy and manufacturing.

In March, the UAE announced a $1.4 trillion investment plan for those sectors in the US over the next decade.

Meanwhile, Trump is expected to lift Biden-era export restrictions on advanced technology as the UAE seeks US microchips and artificial intelligence technology to support its goal of becoming a global AI leader by 2031.

Qatar: Military cooperation, regional security and Syria

In Qatar, where the largest US military base in the Middle East is located, Trump’s agenda includes meetings with the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to discuss military cooperation and regional security.

Doha, which has close ties with Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, may also seek Trump’s support in easing sanctions on Syria.

As a key partner in regional mediation, Qatar is also expected to discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts with Trump.

Why is Israel not on the itinerary?

Trump’s decision to skip Israel during this tour comes amid heightened tensions in Gaza, where Israel’s military has intensified its operations after breaking a ceasefire on March 18.

“Nothing good can come out of a visit to Israel at the moment,” a US official told the Axios news website.

Since it broke the ceasefire, Israel has continued extensive air strikes on Gaza while voicing concerns over what it sees as a decline in US support.

Recent reports from US and Israeli media also suggest growing tensions between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the Trump administration signals it may act independently on Middle East policy without waiting for the Israeli leader.

Israeli political commentator Ori Goldberg told Al Jazeera: “At the moment, Israel is at odds with [Trump’s] overall goal, promising continuous fire.

“I think the mistrust between Trump and Netanyahu has been quite extensive for some time.”

How are countries responding to this visit?

In the lead-up to Trump’s visit, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE pledged significant investments in the US, signalling an interest in deepening economic ties.

However, Trump’s trip also follows resistance in the region over his proposal for the US to redevelop Gaza and relocate its residents to other Arab countries.

In a meeting of Arab leaders in Riyadh in February, officials from countries including Egypt, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait rejected Trump’s plan, emphasising the need for Palestinian self-determination and regional stability.

May 11 (UPI) — The Qatari Royal Family has planned to gift a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet to President Donald Trump to be used for Air Force One and for his own private use when his presidency ends, reports said Sunday.

News of the major gift was first reported by ABC News, citing anonymous sources, and later confirmed by The New York Times and NBC News. United Press International has reached out to Qatar’s Government Communications Office for confirmation.

The gift is expected to be formally announced when Trump visits Qatar next week, according to the reports. Trump toured the plane when it was parked at the West Palm Beach International Airport in February.

A Qatari representative, however, told Axios that while reports of Trump being gifted a jet were “inaccurate,” Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense are discussing the possible temporary use of an aircraft as Air Force One.

If it is gifted, the jet could become the most valuable gift ever from a foreign government to the United States, ABC News reported. Its $400 million estimated price tag surpasses the estimated $250,000 cost of constructing the Statue of Liberty — which was gifted to the United States from France.

But the expected acceptance of the gift by Trump raises questions of its legality, raising the possibility that the president could face scrutiny for bribery or violating the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The Emoluments Clause prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts, payments or other benefits from foreign governments without the consent of Congress but there is debate as to whether it applies to elected officials. According to Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, the interpretation of the clause has never been litigated before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Lawyers for the White House reportedly expect accepting the gift to draw scrutiny and have drafted an analysis for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which concludes that it is legal for the U.S. Defense Department to accept the gift and then to later hand it over to Trump’s presidential library for his private use when he leaves office.

The Trump administration is looking to the precedent set by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in handling the ethical considerations of accepting a retired presidential aircraft.

The Reagan Library boasts a 90,000-square-foot exhibit hangar that permanently displays a Boeing VC-137C aircraft with the tail letters SAM 27000, which entered service as Air Force One under President Richard Nixon.

Though the plane was used by each president until George W. Bush, it is best known in relation to Reagan and was gifted to his library when it was decommissioned in 2001. Reagan died in 2004.

The difference between the use of the two gifts that could pose a challenge for Trump is that the Reagan Library immediately installed it for permanent display while Trump is reported to be planning to continue using it for personal travel.

Trump currently owns a Boeing 757 that dates to the early 1990s. The jet was originally operated by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen before Trump purchased it in 2011.

Two new Air Force One planes have been in the works since at least 2018 when the Air Force awarded a $3.9 billion contract for two modified Boeing 747-8 planes that were expected for delivery by 2024.

Trump told ABC News in 2019 that he wanted to change up the traditional baby blue and white pattern chosen by former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the 1960s to a new color scheme that resembled that of his private jet.

Boeing started modifying the first of the two aircraft in February 2020 and the second in June 2020. According to a 2022 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the company had completed major structural modifications on the first aircraft and is now preparing it for wiring installations.

However, at the time, Boeing struggled to find workers to complete the modifications because of a “competitive labor market” and “lower-than-planned security clearance approval rates.” The Air Force later lowered security clearance standards to make it easier to find workers.

Last week, Defense One reported that Boeing has told the Air Force it can deliver the new jets by 2027 if the government loosens some requirements.

WASHINGTON — President Trump reportedly is set to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as a gift from the ruling family of Qatar during his trip to the Middle East this week, and U.S. officials say it could be converted into a potential presidential aircraft, raising ethical questions.

ABC News reported that Trump will use the plane as a new version of Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office in January 2029, when ownership will be transferred to the foundation overseeing his yet-to-be-built presidential library.

The gift is expected to be announced when Trump visits Qatar as part of a trip that also includes stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the first extended foreign travel of his second term. The Qatari government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Administration officials, anticipating questions about the president accepting such a large gift from a foreign government, have prepared an analysis arguing that doing so would be legal, according to ABC. The Constitution’s Emoluments Clause bars anyone holding government office from accepting any present, emolument, office or title from any “King, Prince, or foreign State,” without congressional consent.

One expert on government ethics, Kathleen Clark of the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, said the gift suggests that Trump is “committed to exploiting the federal government’s power, not on behalf of policy goals, but for amassing personal wealth.”

“This is outrageous,” Clark said. “Trump believes he will get away with this.”

Air Force One is a modified Boeing 747. Two exist and the president flies on both, which are more than 30 years old. Boeing Inc. has the contract to produce updated versions, but delivery has been delayed while the company has lost billions of dollars on the project. Delivery has been pushed to 2027 for the first plane and in 2028 — Trump’s final full year in office — for the second.

Trump intends to convert the Qatari aircraft into a plane he can fly on as president, with the Air Force planning to add secure communications and other classified elements to it. But it will still have more limited capabilities than the existing planes that were built to serve as Air Force One, as well as two other aircraft under construction, according to a former U.S. official.

The official was briefed about the plane and spoke Sunday on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that have not yet been made public.

The existing planes used as Air Force One are heavily modified with survivability capabilities for the president for a range of contingencies, including radiation shielding and antimissile technology. They also include a variety of communications systems to allow the president to remain in contact with the military and issue orders from anywhere in the world.

The official told the Associated Press that it would be possible to quickly add some countermeasures and communications systems to the Qatari plane, but that it would be less capable than the existing Air Force One aircraft or long-delayed replacements.

Neither the Qatari plane nor the upcoming VC-25B aircraft will have the air-to-air refueling capabilities of the current VC-25A aircraft, which is the one the president currently flies on, the official said.

ABC said the new plane is similar to a 13-year-old Boeing aircraft Trump toured in February, while it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport and he was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago club.

Trump faced lawsuits for violating the Emoluments Clause during his first term, but those were ended by the Supreme Court in 2021, which found the cases moot because the Republican had left office.

Clark said the reported Qatari gift is the “logical, inevitable, unfortunate consequence of Congress and the Supreme Court refusing to enforce” the Emoluments Clause.

Trump’s family business, the Trump Organization, which is now largely run by his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, has vast and growing interests in the Middle East. That includes 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.

Qatar, which is ruled by the Al Thani family, is home to the state-owned airline Qatar Airways. The country has worked to nurture a close relationship with Trump after he apparently backed a boycott of Doha by four Arab nations in his first term. Trump later in his term applauded Qatar.

Administration officials have brushed off concerns about the president’s policy interests blurring with his family’s business profits. They argue that Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children and that a voluntary ethics agreement released by the Trump Organization in January bars the company from striking deals directly with foreign governments.

But that same agreement allows deals with private companies abroad. That is a departure from Trump’s first term, when the organization released an ethics pact prohibiting either foreign government or foreign company deals.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, when asked Friday if the president during his upcoming trip might meet with people tied to his family’s business, said it was “ridiculous” to suggest Trump “is doing anything for his own benefit.”

Miller and Weissert write for the Associated Press. AP writers Christine Fernando in Chicago and Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report.

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed there will be a technical delegation at the Iran-US talks in Oman on Sunday.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has visited Saudi Arabia and is due to visit Qatar for consultations in the run-up to the fourth round of indirect nuclear talks with the United States, which will take place in Oman on Sunday.

The future direction of Iran’s nuclear programme, its enrichment of uranium, and sanctions relief remain the key issues.

Araqhchi’s Gulf tour on Saturday comes after Tehran confirmed the latest round Friday: “The negotiations are moving forward, and naturally, the further we go, the more consultations and reviews are needed,” Araghchi said in remarks carried by Iranian state media.

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said on Friday that, after “coordination with both Iran and the US”, the delayed talks would go ahead in Muscat. The fourth round, initially scheduled for May 3 in Rome, was postponed for what Oman described as “logistical reasons.”

A source familiar with the matter said on Friday that US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, plans to attend the meeting in Oman.

Ongoing dispute over nuclear programme

The talks come against the backdrop of a long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The meeting is the latest effort to revive diplomacy after years of rising tensions.

Successive US administrations have sought to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. A sustained effort by world powers during the Barack Obama administration culminated with a 2015 agreement called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The multilateral agreement created a framework for Iran to receive much-needed relief from international sanctions, in exchange for reducing its uranium enrichment and submitting to inspections of its nuclear facilities.

But when Trump succeeded Obama as US president, he unilaterally withdrew the US from the nuclear agreement in 2018, causing the deal to crumble.

Some Western countries argue that Iran’s programme, accelerated after the US walkout from the 2015 accord, is aimed at developing weapons. Tehran maintains that its nuclear activity is entirely civilian.

Trump himself has acknowledged tensions in his policy on Iran, saying at the start of his second term that hawkish advisors were pushing him to step up pressure reluctantly.

In an interview on Thursday, Trump said he wanted “total verification” that Iran’s contested nuclear work is shut down, but through diplomacy.

“I’d much rather make a deal” than see military action, Trump told the conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt.

“There are only two alternatives – blow ’em up nicely or blow ’em up viciously,” Trump said.

In an interview with Breitbart News on Friday, Witkoff said the US would “take [Iran] at their word” that they do not want nuclear weapons, but set out specific conditions for verifying such a position.

“If that’s how they feel, then their enrichment facilities have to be dismantled. They cannot have centrifuges. They have to downblend all of their fuel that they have there and send it to a faraway place — and they have to convert to a civil programme if they want to run a civil programme,” he said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier raised the possibility of Iran importing enriched uranium for any civilian energy.

Iran’s Gulf outreach

Araqchi’s trips to Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Saturday are part of what he describes as “continuous consultations” with neighbouring states.

He said the visits aimed to address “concerns and mutual interests” regarding the nuclear issue.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei confirmed the presence of a technical delegation in the talks in Oman on Saturday.

In an interview with Mehr News, Baghaei stated that the Iranian delegation is comprised of experts and specialists relevant to the current phase of the negotiations. He did not comment on the US team.

The search and rescue group has found the remains of three unidentified bodies so far, according to anonymous sources.

A Qatari mission has begun searching for the remains of United States hostages killed by the ISIL (ISIS) armed group in Syria about 10 years ago, according to the Reuters news agency, citing two sources briefed on the mission.

Qatar’s International Search and Rescue Group began the search on Wednesday, with the help of several US nationals who wished to remain anonymous, the news agency reported.

So far, three unidentified bodies have been found by the group, according to the sources. The mission’s focus was on locating the body of aid worker Peter Kassig, who was beheaded by ISIL in 2014 in Dabiq, northern Syria, a Syrian security source told Reuters.

US aid worker Kayla Mueller as well as US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were among other Western hostages killed by ISIL. Foley and Sotloff were confirmed killed in 2014. Mueller’s killing was confirmed in 2015.

“We’re grateful for anyone taking on this task and risking their lives in some circumstances to try and find the bodies of Jim and the other hostages,” said Diane Foley, James Foley’s mother. “We thank all those involved in this effort.”

The Qatari mission is getting under way as US President Donald Trump prepares to visit Doha and other Gulf Arab capitals next week and as Syria’s new government seeks relief from sanctions imposed by the US.

Washington, along with some other Western governments, has said it will wait to see how the new authorities exercise their power and ensure human rights before lifting any sanctions.

The United Kingdom last month removed its sanctions on 12 Syrian government entities, including the Ministries of Defence and Interior and the General Intelligence Directorate.

Longstanding commitment

ISIL once controlled vast swaths of Syria and Iraq, ruling over millions of people. At the peak of its power from 2014-2017, it beheaded numerous people in captivity, including Western hostages, and released videos of the killings.

A coalition of more than 80 countries, led by the US, was formed to fight ISIL in September 2014.

The war against the group officially ended in March 2019, when US-backed and Kurdish-led fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces captured the eastern Syrian town of Baghouz, the last sliver of land ISIL controlled.

Plans for the Qatari mission were discussed during a visit to Washington in April by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and State Minister Mohammed Al Khulaifi – a trip also designed to prepare for Trump’s visit to Qatar, one of the sources told Reuters.

Another person familiar with the issue said there had been a longstanding commitment by successive US administrations to find the remains of the murdered US nationals, and that there had been multiple previous “efforts with US government officials on the ground in Syria to search very specific areas”.

The person did not elaborate, the report said. But the US has had hundreds of soldiers deployed in northeastern Syria that have continued pursuing ISIL’s remnants.

The person said the remains of Kassig, Sotloff and Foley were most likely located in this part of the country. Mueller’s case was different as she was in the custody of ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the person added.

Two ISIL members, both former UK citizens who were part of a cell dubbed the “Beatles” that beheaded US hostages, are serving life prison sentences in the US.

United States President Donald Trump plans to tout trillions of dollars of Arab investments in the US as a major achievement, but other issues are at stake, says University of Maryland professor Shibley Telhami.

Israel is threatening to further destroy the Gaza Strip unless progress is made in its ceasefire talks with Hamas. Meanwhile, Israel has refused to allow any food to enter Gaza – home to more than 2 million Palestinians – for more than two months.

And despite Israeli objections, Trump may soon be able to reach a deal with Iran on its nuclear program.