On Tuesday, President Donald Trump started his four-day trip to the Middle East. He met with the leader of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. They talked about important things the US wants to do, like stopping Iran's nuclear program, ending the fighting in Gaza, and keeping oil prices from going up.

Prince Mohammed welcomed Trump when he got off the plane to start his trip in the Middle East.

The two leaders went into a large room at the Riyadh airport. There, people wearing special clothes served Trump and his helpers traditional Arabic coffee.

The big welcome started before Trump's plane landed. Saudi fighter planes flew with his plane as it got close to the capital city.

Trump and Prince Mohammed were going to eat lunch at the Royal Court. Some important business people, like Stephen Schwarzman, Larry Fink, and Elon Musk, were also asked to come.

Musk is also leading a new group called the Department of Government Efficiency. This group is trying to find and stop waste, cheating, and bad things in the U.S. government. Some people do not agree with this group.

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Trump visits the Middle East when problems in the area get worse.

Saudi oil company Aramco made $26 billion in the first three months of the year. This is a little less than last year.

Later, the crown prince will have a formal dinner for Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump will also go to a U.S.-Saudi investment meeting on Tuesday.

Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said that when people from Saudi Arabia and America work together, good things usually happen.

Saudi Arabia and other oil countries helped Trump by making more oil. Trump thinks cheap oil helps keep prices low for Americans. He also said lower oil prices could help stop the war in Ukraine.

Saudi Arabia's economy depends a lot on oil. To have enough money, the price of oil needs to be between $96 and $98 a barrel. We don't know how long OPEC+, where Saudi Arabia is the most important member, will keep making a lot of oil. On Monday, the price of Brent crude oil was $64.77 a barrel.

Jon Alterman said that when oil prices are low, it is harder for countries in the Gulf to change their economies.

Trump chose Saudi Arabia for his first trip because it promised to invest a lot of money in the U.S. However, Trump went to Italy first last month for the Pope's funeral. Riyadh was the first foreign country he visited as president.

The president will visit three countries: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. In these countries, the Trump Organization, which is run by the president's two older sons, is building big buildings and areas. For example, they are building a tall building in Jeddah, a nice hotel in Dubai, and a golf course with houses in Qatar.

Trump wants to show his way of working with other countries is good. But some people, like the Democrats, say his taxes on things from other countries and his actions about the war in Ukraine are making the US alone, without help from friends.

People think he will announce agreements with three rich countries. These agreements will be about AI (artificial intelligence), working more together on energy, and maybe selling new weapons to Saudi Arabia. This month, the government already said it was okay to sell air-to-air missiles for Saudi Arabia's planes. These missiles are worth $3.5 billion.

But when Trump came to the Middle East, his main friends, Israel and Saudi Arabia, did not fully agree with his plans.

Before the trip, Trump said the U.S. would stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen for a while. He said the rebels promised to stop attacking ships in an important trade area.

The US government didn't tell Israel about the agreement before Trump told everyone. This was another time Trump didn't tell Israel about his talks with their enemies.

In March, the Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu did not know about the talks with Hamas about the war in Gaza until after they started. He also did not know about the U.S. talks with Iran about nuclear power until Trump said it during a meeting last month.

Israel will protect itself alone, Netanyahu said last week after Trump said the Houthis would stop fighting. If other people help us, like our American friends, that's even better.

William Wechsler said it was surprising that Trump did not go to Israel on his first trip to the Middle East.

Wechsler said the main idea from the trip is that the governments in the Gulf are better friends with President Trump than the government of Israel is now.

Trump wants to try again to help Israel and Saudi Arabia become friends. They are important countries in the Middle East. Trump's plan helped Sudan, the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco become friends with Israel.

But Saudi Arabia wants help with its safety from the U.S., support for its nuclear plans, and steps towards a Palestinian country. It is difficult to see how they can move forward on a Palestinian country now because of the war between Israel and Hamas.

Last week, Prince Mohammed met with Hussein Sheikh, the Palestinian Vice President, in Jeddah. This was Mr. Sheikh's first trip outside his country since he started his job in April.

Hussain Abdul-Hussain said the prince seemed to be quietly telling Trump that Saudi Arabia wants to see progress for the Palestinians. This is important before they can start talking seriously about a peace deal with Israel.

Abdul-Hussain said that because the Saudis often show what they plan to do, it's like they are saying, 'Don't even think about asking us to be friendly about making things normal.'