Trump hosts Persian Gulf leaders at White House as new violence raises questions about peace efforts

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump hosted 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 dined privately with Qatar's prime minister.

The Republican president has lavished attention on the Persian Gulf, a wealthy region where members of his family have extensive business relationships. 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’s most intractable problems, including the war in Gaza, Trump was more focused Wednesday on promoting diplomatic ties as a vehicle for economic growth.

“Anything they needed, we helped them,” Trump said in the Oval Office while meeting with Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. “And anything we needed, they helped us.”

Bahrain is a longtime ally that hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, 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.

“And this is real,” he said. “It’s real money. These aren’t fake deals.”

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.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar and a member of the country’s ruling family, was at the White House for 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. One ballistic missile 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 stirred concerns about security and the ethics of accepting a gift from a foreign government.

Aaron David Miller, who served as an adviser on Middle East issues to Democratic and Republican administrations, said “the Gulf represents everything that Trump believes is right about the Middle East.”

“It’s rich, it’s stable, it’s populated by authoritarians with whom the president feels very comfortable,” he said.

The fighting in Syria began with clashes between Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze factions in the country’s 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. A ceasefire was later announced, but it was unclear if it would hold.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in the Oval Office for Trump's meeting with the crown prince of Bahrain, said the fighting was the result of “an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding." He said “we think we’re on our way to a real de-escalation” that would allow Syria to “get back on track” 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.

“There’s 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’s still no game plan to deal with the loose ends of Iran’s nuclear program and its other activities in the region,” such as support for the Houthis.

President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio listen during a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa listens during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump and Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa speak in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela's leader.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country's oil products.

Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”

Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.

Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro's capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.

“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”

A person watches the oil tanker Ocean Mariner, Monrovia, arrive to the bay in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)