WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 President Donald Trump is hosting a pair of Arab Gulf leaders at the White House on Wednesday as violence between Israel and Syria renewed doubts about his pledge to impose peace on the Middle East.
Trump held a meeting in the Oval Office with Bahrain's crown prince and was set to have dinner with Qatar's prime minister.
The Republican president has lavished attention on the Gulf, a wealthy region where members of his family . He has already visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on the first foreign policy trip of his second term.
With little progress to share on the region鈥檚 most intractable problems, including the war in Gaza, Trump was more focused Wednesday on promoting diplomatic ties as a vehicle for economic growth.
鈥淎nything they needed, we helped them,鈥 Trump said in the Oval Office while meeting with Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. 鈥淎nd anything we needed, they helped us.鈥
Meeting with Bahrain's crown prince
Bahrain is a longtime ally that hosts the , which operates in the Middle East.
Like other Arab leaders, Al Khalifa was eager to highlight the lucrative potential of diplomatic ties with the U.S., including $17 billion of investments.
鈥淎nd this is real,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 real money. These aren鈥檛 fake deals.鈥
According to the White House, the agreements include purchasing American airplanes, jet engines and computer servers. More investments could be made in aluminum production and artificial intelligence.
Bahrain's king, the crown prince's father, is expected to visit Washington before the end of the year. An important part of the relationship will be an agreement, signed on Wednesday, to advance cooperation on civilian nuclear energy.
Dinner with Qatari prime minister
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar and a member of the country鈥檚 ruling family, is scheduled to attend a private dinner with Trump on Wednesday evening.
Trump visited Qatar during his trip to the region, marveling at its palaces and stopping at the Al Udeid Air Base, a key U.S. military facility.
The base was targeted by Iran after the U.S. bombed the country's nuclear facilities. made impact, while others were intercepted.
Trump wants to use a luxurious Boeing 747 donated by Qatar as his Air Force One because he's tired of waiting for Boeing to finish new planes. However, the arrangement has and the ethics of accepting .
Aaron David Miller, who served as an adviser on Middle East issues to Democratic and Republican administrations, said 鈥渢he Gulf represents everything that Trump believes is right about the Middle East.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 rich, it鈥檚 stable, it鈥檚 populated by authoritarians with whom the president feels very comfortable,鈥 he said.
Fighting in Syria
The fighting in Syria began with clashes between Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze factions in the country鈥檚 south. Government forces intervened, raising alarms in Israel, where the Druze are a politically influential religious minority.
On Wednesday, Israel launched strikes in the Syrian capital of Damascus. , but it was unclear if it would hold.
Secretary of State , who was in the Oval Office for Trump's meeting with the crown prince of Bahrain, said the fighting was the result of 鈥渁n unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding." He said 鈥渨e think we鈥檙e on our way to a real de-escalation鈥 that would allow Syria to 鈥済et back on track鈥 to rebuilding after years of civil war.
Despite an international outcry over its punishing military operations in Gaza, Israel has successfully weakened its enemies around the region, including Hezbollah and Iran.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a growing concern that Israel unleashed...has been a bigger sense of unpredictability," Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said.
He also warned that "there鈥檚 still no game plan to deal with the loose ends of Iran鈥檚 nuclear program and its other activities in the region,鈥 such as support for the Houthis.
