Enrichment to Artificial Intelligence; Bin Salman and His Ambitious Plans in His Meeting with the United States

The Middle East Eye, in a report, examined the list of demands the Saudi Crown Prince is bringing to the White House and stated that, beyond military cooperation, Saudi Arabia has an even more important goal: becoming the center of artificial intelligence in the Middle East and one of its global poles.

According to Rokna, citing Eqtesad News, in the coming days Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, will head to Washington carrying a diverse portfolio of demands. A list of requests that goes far beyond the defense pact that Qatar has obtained. From advanced AI chips and AI-equipped drones to the potential deployment of American nuclear weapons on Saudi soil, these items constitute Bin Salman’s demands from the United States.

A wish list or reasonable expectations?

In this regard, Sean Mathews wrote in Middle East Eye that carrying this “wish list” reflects the confidence of a leader who, despite Washington’s pressure to normalize relations with Israel amid the Gaza war, stood firm in his position and also emerged from the direct confrontation between Iran and Israel that occurred in the summer without political damage.

Across the table sits a president willing to bring America’s strategic treasures—namely nuclear technology and advanced artificial intelligence technologies—into the bargaining process.

The success of this trip reflects Trump’s core inclination: overlooking America’s structural security concerns regarding China and the protection of sensitive technologies, in return for extensive sales to one of the few economies in the world with abundant cash for large-scale projects.

There was a time when Middle Eastern leaders would enter the White House only to sign contracts ensuring continued business for companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin. However, Bin Salman’s complex and forward-looking list of demands shows that he envisions Saudi Arabia in a more advanced and mature stage.

A long-term cooperation outlook

Eyham Kamel, head of the Middle East and North Africa practice at Edelman, says that Bin Salman is not seeking cooperation in just one specific area; he wants to establish a long-term, mutually beneficial partnership with the United States—a two-way exchange of technology and commerce.

According to him, Saudi Arabia still wants to be part of a multipolar global order, but it is now capitalizing on its close ties with Trump.

Seeking to fall under America’s “nuclear umbrella”

One of the most important issues to watch is Saudi Arabia’s attempt to fall within the framework of the American nuclear umbrella. Only days after Israel attacked Hamas negotiators in Qatar, Saudi Arabia signed a defense agreement with Pakistan, the only nuclear-armed country in the Islamic world.

Pakistan has about 170 nuclear warheads, and reports indicate that its new agreement with Riyadh encompasses all military options.

The details of nuclear negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the United States remain classified, but a former US intelligence official says that placing Saudi Arabia under the nuclear umbrella could achieve one major objective: removing Saudi Arabia from under Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella and instilling in Riyadh a sense of superiority over Qatar.

He predicts that, in the coming days, signs of Saudi Arabia’s formal linkage to the US nuclear arsenal may appear in statements.

Is the security pact with Qatar serious?

Saudi Arabia’s distrust of the United States is not new. After Israel’s attack on Hamas officials on Qatari soil, Trump attempted to compensate for this assault by signing an executive order guaranteeing Qatar’s security. But this decree was not taken seriously in the region, because unlike formal treaties, any future administration can repeal it.

For this reason, Saudi Arabia is now seeking firmer and more enforceable guarantees—not memoranda of understanding, not general promises, but agreements with real legal force.

Normalization with Israel is not part of the deal

One of the major achievements of the current trip is that the Saudis have successfully separated their bilateral negotiations with the United States from the issue of normalization with Israel.

Trump insists that normalization will occur by the end of the year, but Western and Arab diplomats have told the media that Riyadh has no desire to return to such negotiations.

Saudi Arabia will only discuss normalization with Israel if the process for establishing an independent Palestinian state is placed on the table—a demand Israel firmly rejects.

Saudi Arabia continues enrichment

US-Saudi discussions over nuclear cooperation continue, even though the normalization file with Israel has been halted from Riyadh’s perspective.

Trump seeks agreements that would draw American companies like Westinghouse and Bechtel into multi-billion-dollar projects in Saudi Arabia.

In 2009, the UAE pledged not to enrich uranium under any circumstances. But Saudi Arabia has explicitly stated that it will make no such commitment.

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister said a few months ago: “We will continue to enrich uranium, we will sell it, and we will produce our own nuclear yellowcake.”

For Saudi Arabia, enrichment is both an economic issue and one tied to national pride.

Analysts say if Riyadh is to give up enrichment, it will require very substantial concessions from Trump—concessions that might even include the deployment of American nuclear weapons on Saudi soil.

A professor at Princeton University says: “I think the Saudis will eventually give up enrichment, but in return they will want a nuclear umbrella from the United States, something that may even include the deployment of US nuclear systems in Saudi Arabia.”

From F-35s to combat drones

Saudi Arabia has sent 18 aircraft and 1,000 government officials to Washington for this trip—an indication of how important these negotiations are.

Among the major defense contracts, the key issue is the potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia—aircraft that had previously been provided in the region only to Israel.

During President Biden’s term, the sale of F-35s to the UAE was halted due to fears that China might gain access to the technology. The same concerns exist regarding Saudi Arabia. But analysts believe that even if Saudi Arabia receives these jets, they will be versions with technical limitations—similar to how the country received F-15s with downgraded radars in the 1990s in order to preserve Israel’s regional superiority.

In addition to fighter jets, discussions are underway regarding the sale of hundreds of MQ-9 Reaper drones.

But the area Saudi Arabia is focusing on most intensely is next-generation drones with artificial intelligence capabilities. Riyadh is negotiating with the US company Shield AI, whose advanced drones have been used in the Ukraine war.

Ambition in artificial intelligence; from chips to data centers

Beyond military cooperation, Saudi Arabia has an even more important goal: becoming the artificial intelligence hub of the Middle East and one of its global centers.

In May, Nvidia announced the sale of thousands of Blackwell chips to Humain, a company owned by Saudi Arabia’s trillion-dollar investment fund. But delivery of the chips has been halted for unspecified reasons.

Thanks to its abundant oil and gas, Saudi Arabia is building massive data centers powered by extremely cheap electricity. Humain alone has announced that by 2034 it will build data centers with a capacity of 6.6 gigawatts.

Americans worry that AI technologies, especially advanced chips, may reach China through Saudi Arabia. But Mohammed bin Salman is expected during this trip to pressure Washington for the rapid advancement of these deals.