Donald Trump updates: Qatar, US sign deals to boost defence and trade ties

Thank you for joining us for day 115 of Donald Trump’s second term, as the US president continues his four-day-long tour of the Middle East.

To get an overview of the day’s events in Qatar, check out our overview here. You can also explore Trump’s decision to rescind sanctions against Syria with this story.

And catch up with the latest developments in the ongoing case of a Georgetown University scholar facing deportation under Trump here.

We hope to see you again soon!

We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a look at the key developments from day two of Trump’s Middle East trip.

• Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, says Doha and Washington are reaching “another level” of their relations as US President Donald Trump visits the Gulf country.
• The two countries have signed a range of agreements, including several defence deals and an agreement for Qatar Airways to buy hundreds of Boeing aircraft.
• Trump had said the agreement is for more than 160 jets worth more than $200bn, though a White House fact sheet later adjusted those numbers to 210 aircraft worth $96bn.
• US, Turkish and Syrian officials have announced they will meet on Thursday to discuss details of Trump’s planned sanctions relief for Syria.
• Trump says ties between the US and Gulf countries benefit Israel, despite the perception that the close US ally has been sidelined during Trump’s Middle East visit.
• In the US, Trump has faced continued scrutiny over alleged conflicts of interest during his trip, with Democrats flying a banner reading “Qatar-a-Lago” over his residence in Florida.
• During his flight to Qatar, he denied knowledge of reports that his family could profit from a cryptocurrency deal with an investment firm in the United Arab Emirates: “I really don’t know anything about it.”
• Trump will conclude his four-day visit to the region in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.

The US president is rounding out his first trip to the Middle East during his second term.

After starting the multi-leg journey in Riyadh, Trump travelled today to Doha. Tomorrow, he is expected to start the day visiting a US military base in Qatar, before making the final stop of his tour in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

So far, Trump has not diverted from his original plans, although he has floated potentially making a last-minute stop in Turkiye.

However, Trump has said that would only happen if both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agree to attend ceasefire talks there.

As Trump’s state dinner in the Lusail Palace wound to a close, he and Emir Al Thani took a moment to sign a football as a souvenir.

The gesture caps the first official state visit of a US president to Qatar.

The Gulf country hosted the last FIFA World Cup football tournament in 2022. The next tournament, slated for 2026, will be co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, a friend of Trump’s, was also on hand during the football signing.

As he concludes his remarks in Damascus, al-Sharaa calls on the international community to invest in his country to help its recovery after 13-plus years of war.

“We welcome all the investors from inside and outside the country, from Syria and also Turkiye and all our friends,” al-Sharaa said. “We urge them to benefit from the different opportunities in the different domains and fields.”

Al-Sharaa also pledged never to allow his country to return to the division and strife that defined the past decade.

“Syria will no longer be a battle for any fights and will not allow or permit the division of Syria. And we will also not allow the revival of any of the old narratives, the narratives of the old regime,” he said. “Syria is for all the Syrians with its different components and ethnicities and religions and all those who live on this blessed land.”

In his first remarks since meeting with Trump in Saudi Arabia, Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa spoke warmly about the reception he has received from international leaders, including in nearby Arab states.

“We realised that the whole world loves Syria and was also concerned with the situation of Syria because of its important place in their hearts,” he explained.

Part of his remarks were dedicated to the leadership of Saudi Arabia, whom he credited with helping to lift international sanctions against his country.

“I have visited Saudi Arabia a few months ago, where I met with the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and he told me that he would exert all efforts in order to lift sanctions. And I have seen in his eyes and the eyes of his people the love for Syria and also their trust in its bright future,” he said.

Just one day prior, US President Trump made the surprise announcement that he too was lifting peeling back the sanctions his country had imposed on Syria. Al-Sharaa praised his decision, as well as similar efforts from European leaders like France’s Emmanuel Macron.

“It was a courageous, a brave decision as he will help the Syrian people to have a better future and to achieve stability in the region,” al-Sharaa said of Trump.

The Trump administration has framed a slew of new agreements reached during his trip to the Middle East as major victories. But at home in the US, lawyers representing his efforts to deport Palestine advocates are facing setbacks.

A federal judge in Virginia has ordered Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri to be released from immigration detention as his deportation case proceeds.

He is the third high-profile visa holder targeted by the Trump administration to be released in recent days after Rumeysa Ozturk and Mohsen Mahdawi.

Advocates have argued the Trump administration is trampling the constitutional right to freedom of speech in its efforts to punish pro-Palestine students.

The administration, however, has said it is acting within its legal authority to deport visa holders and permanent residents deemed harmful to US foreign policy.

“I thank everyone who came out to support the cause of truth-telling, speaking up and standing for Palestinian rights,” Khan Suri’s wife told reporters and supporters at a news conference.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has voiced scepticism about engaging in direct talks with Russia, saying he was “waiting to see who will arrive from Russia and then I will determine what steps Ukraine should take”.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin had initially called for direct negotiations in Istanbul on Thursday, which would be the first talks of their kind since 2022. Zelenskyy later upped the ante, calling for talks to involve top leaders from both countries.

Trump also indicated he could join the talks during his Middle East trip, if Putin and Zelenskyy both show. If not, the White House has said the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, would attend.

Speaking in his nightly address, Zelenskyy said that the continued strikes on Ukraine showed Russia remained “the only obstacle to establishing peace”.

In a letter released by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, a group representing the people taken captive by Hamas and other groups on October 7, 65 people formerly held in Gaza called on the US president and Israeli prime minister to continue negotiations for the release of those still remaining in captivity.

“We, the survivors of the captivity who were kidnapped on October 7 through the state’s negligence, are happy and welcome the release of the kidnapped Edan Alexander,” the letter begins, according to Israel’s public broadcaster Kan.

Alexander, an Israeli-American soldier, was released from captivity on Monday after the US negotiated independently with Hamas.

“We believe that the Israeli government now has a real opportunity to return to the negotiating table. We ask you, all those involved, not to leave until a comprehensive deal is signed”, the letter continues.

Netanyahu has staunchly refused to negotiate with Hamas following Israel’s resumption of hostilities in Gaza, after a brief ceasefire, in March.

You can follow our coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza here.

Saudi Aramco has unveiled 34 preliminary deals with major US companies potentially worth up to $90bn in one of its broadest pushes to deepen commercial ties with the US.

The agreements underscore Saudi Arabia’s efforts to strengthen its energy partnerships and attract foreign investment as it looks to balance oil dominance with broader industrial and technological growth under Vision 2030.

“The US is really a good place to put our investment,” Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said on Tuesday at the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Riyadh. He was announcing deals with US liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer NextDecade and utility company Sempra.

Aramco also signed a memorandum of understanding with ExxonMobil to evaluate a significant upgrade to their SAMREF refinery with plans to expand it into an integrated petrochemical complex.

It also inked a nonbinding agreement with Amazon Web Services to collaborate on digital transformation and lower-carbon initiatives.

“Our US-related activities have evolved over the decades, and now include multi-disciplinary R&D, the Motiva refinery in Port Arthur, start-up investments, potential collaborations in LNG, and ongoing procurement,” Nasser said in a statement.

Aramco is the economic backbone of Saudi Arabia, generating the bulk of the kingdom’s revenue through oil exports and funding its ambitious Vision 2030 economic diversification drive. Beyond energy, the state oil giant has become a key vehicle for industrial development, digital transformation and foreign investment.

The president has just arrived at the palace in Qatar for a state dinner.

“This is an opportunity for the president to talk in a more informal way,” said Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett.

“Donald Trump never stops doing business, whether it’s in a formal or informal setting,” she added.