The Media Line: AI, Energy, Defense, Key to President Trump’s Mideast-US Alliance

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AI, Energy, Defense, Key to President Trump’s Mideast-US Alliance

Saudi Arabia is expected to announce multibillion-dollar investments in American artificial intelligence infrastructure, as well as cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector

By Keren Setton/The Media Line

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to meet US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. The visit will signal a significant change in American policy and a pivot from previously fraught relations between the two countries to a significant partnership that is the cornerstone of Trump’s vision for the United States and the world.

Trump views the crown prince as a critical player in his plan for shaping the future of the Middle East and the American economy. The warm welcome planned for him in Washington is a testament to that.

Ahead of the visit, the president announced his approval for Saudi Arabia to purchase F-35 fighter jets. The deal has raised concerns in the United States that China could gain access to American technology through the move. In Israel, the deal is raising alarm bells about the Jewish state losing its military advantage in the region.

“For Israel, this is a very significant development as it erodes Israel’s posture in the Middle East,” said Dr. Col. (Res.) Ori Nissim Levy, a nuclear defense expert and a lecturer at Afeka College of Engineering, and chairman of the World Nuclear Forum (WNF-193). “This fighter jet is one of the few that has the ability to carry nuclear weapons.”

But for the American leader, Saudi Arabia is the first domino to fall in order to create a greater regional and then global domino effect. Considered the birthplace of Islam and the largest Arab economy, Trump’s vision for the future passes through Riyadh.

In return for benefits from Washington, Saudi Arabia is expected to announce multibillion-dollar investments in American artificial intelligence infrastructure, as well as cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector.

Trump is pushing for a regional package in which Saudi Arabia establishes ties with Israel after giving a political pathway for Palestinian statehood. Hence, the United Nations resolution passed late Monday creating that path for the Palestinians.

Normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel has always been linked to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, even more so in the aftermath of the war in Gaza.

The eternal businessman, President Trump is trying to leverage Saudi incentives, including security assurances and economic cooperation, to press Israel toward concessions that would anchor the ceasefire, establish a new diplomatic framework for the Palestinians, and be the first step towards a peaceful and stable Middle East.

“The whole structure of regional peace, which has both strategic and economic facets, rests on dominos — the first is Gaza, followed by an upgrade of relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and afterward normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” said Prof. Eytan Gilboa, an expert on US-Israel relations at Bar-Ilan and Reichman universities, in an interview with The Media Line. “It is all connected one after the other, and each step depends on the previous one.”

The Hamas terrorist organization has rejected the UN resolution, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed it on Tuesday.

“There is a lot of naiveté in Trump’s plan,” Gilboa said. “But if the Palestinian issue will not be resolved due to Hamas’ objection, Saudi Arabia may still move forward with normalization of relations with Israel.”

Trump has also agreed to sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, both as an incentive and as leverage on Riyadh. The advanced aircraft deal, long sought by the Saudis, is intended not only to push bin Salman toward normalization with Israel but also to inject the American economy with massive investments.

An F-35 plane takes about three years to build and costs between $80 million and $100 million. Saudi Arabia is reportedly interested in buying at least 48.

“Trump’s performance on the American economy hasn’t been good so far,” Gilboa said. “Saudi multibillion-dollar investments will bring work and investments to American factories.”

Saudi Arabia was Trump’s first foreign destination in both his first and second terms.

“Trump judges everything according to profit, and that is how he makes his foreign policy decisions,” Gilboa added.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter. But in addition to the United States needing a strong and stable ally in Riyadh, there is an increasingly urgent need for greater cooperation between the two in AI. Saudi Arabia’s energy-rich economy means it pays less for the electricity needed to host the power-hungry data centers required for the massive surge in the use of AI.

According to the US Department of Energy, around 4.4% of US electricity demand is consumed by the data centers that power AI. This number is expected to double in the next five years, straining already stressed power grids in the country.

“The whole world needs more energy, and it is likely going to have to be nuclear energy,” said Nissim Levy. “While solar energy is a great thing, it’s not enough for the needs. Every push on a keystroke requires a lot of energy.”

Saudi Arabia is also pushing for a civilian nuclear program in an effort to diversify energy sources, free up more oil for export to countries like Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea — key American allies — and power the data-heavy industries it hopes will anchor its future as a regional powerhouse and a global leader in that field.

Riyadh’s insistence on domestic civilian nuclear enrichment has raised alarm in Israel, which fears the program could be used as a shortcut to weaponization in a volatile region.

“Israel’s concern is understandable, but it won’t be able to stop it,” said Nissim Levy. “There is a global appetite for as many reactors as possible for AI.”

“Civilian nuclear programs always begin that way and end with a nuclear bomb,” said Gilboa.

According to Nissim Levy, civilian nuclear energy production derives from uranium, which then naturally creates the byproduct of plutonium — the main source of energy for nuclear bombs.

“Most of the 32 countries that use nuclear energy for civilian purposes do not utilize the byproduct of plutonium,” he explained. “But even though this is the case, it is most certainly a stepping stone to military-grade nuclear weapons.”

US officials are trying to balance Saudi ambitions and Israeli concerns in order to iron out possible complications threatening the broader deal linking normalization, regional security arrangements, and progress on the Palestinian issue.

Casting a shadow is Iran, which Jerusalem, Washington, and Riyadh see as a mutual threat.

Iran, which claims its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only, has other countries in the region stating they will also seek nuclear weapons if Iran obtains them. Both Egypt and Turkey have begun constructing nuclear power plants with Russian assistance. The two, which have diplomatic yet tense relations with Israel, have raised concern in Jerusalem about the prospects of weaponization of their nuclear capacity.

“They are already halfway there, and that is a great danger,” said Ori Nissim Levy, who points to stringent regulation in place in Western countries with civilian nuclear programs, as opposed to nondemocratic regimes.

For Washington, closer coordination between Saudi Arabia and Israel is viewed as a way to fortify a regional front against Iran’s nuclear aspirations, its ballistic missile program, and its network of armed proxies, which it is seeking to rebuild after a two-year regional war with Israel. Saudi Arabia sees formal security guarantees from the United States, including access to advanced defense systems, as a de facto insurance policy against Iranian aggression. For Israel, deeper ties with Riyadh would act as a significant strategic counterweight to Iran’s quest for expanding regional influence.

“All these investments need to be protected, mainly from Iran,” Gilboa said. “The best defense against Iran is to bring Saudi Arabia and Israel together.”

Last summer, both Israel and the United States attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities. The extent of the damage, while believed to be substantial, apparently did not completely destroy its nuclear program. It also did not destroy Iran’s motivation to achieve nuclear power.

The world is rapidly changing. Alliances are shifting. As technology advances at a rapid pace, needs are changing. Much more energy is needed to power data centers, AI-powered internet searches, and the hardware used to manufacture components such as specialized accelerators. In addition to the need to build new nuclear power plants, there is a drive to bring retired nuclear facilities back online.

In July 2025, the Trump administration released its action plan for AI, titled “Winning the Race.” The strategy has the potential to rearrange the global balance of power, and it passes through the very volatile Middle East.

PHOTO- President Donald Trump meets Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)