Saudi crown prince’s pushback on Israel normalization reportedly irked Trump

Israeli TV report says US president was ‘disappointed and angry’ after MBS cited domestic opposition to normalizing ties with Jewish state

US President Donald Trump was left “disappointed and angry” after a “tense” exchange with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over normalization with Israel during their White House meeting last week, Israeli television reported Tuesday.

Citing two senior American officials and an additional source familiar with the conversation, Channel 12 news said Trump was the one to raise the issue, urging the crown prince to move forward immediately with normalization. In response, Bin Salman pushed back, saying that while he isn’t against normalization in principle, widespread anti-Israel sentiment in Saudi Arabia following the war in Gaza doesn’t allow for the move at this time.

While the conversation remained polite, a senior US official told the network that Trump was “disappointed and angry” over the crown prince’s refusal.

The official added that “bin Salman did not say ‘never’ in the meeting regarding normalization with Israel. He left the door open to doing it in the future — but the issue of a two-state solution is a major problem” — a condition bin Salman stated publicly at the White House.

“With the collapse of Iran’s nuclear program totally completed and the war in Gaza over, it is important to President Trump that all countries in the Middle East join the Abraham Accords to advance peace in the region,” a senior White House official was quoted as saying.

The Saudi embassy in Washington did not provide a response to the report, while the White House repeated Trump’s call for all Middle Eastern nations to sign onto the accords.

Saudi Arabia has insisted on a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood in exchange for establishing formal relations with Israel, a condition rejected by the Israeli government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared during an interview last week that “there will not be a Palestinian state,” even at the cost of normalization with Riyadh.

Netanyahu nevertheless declared that “the conditions could develop” for normalization now that the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is winding down.

“But the conditions must be acceptable to both sides – terms that are good for both sides,” he said. “I know how to stand firm on our essential conditions and not endanger our security. And if this process ripens later on, excellent. And if not, we will safeguard our vital interests.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.