Belated thank you to the @FT for putting “Assad or We Burn the Country: How One Family’s Lust for Power Destroyed Syria” on the list of best 12 books “shedding light on the conflict in #Syria & its place in the wider power struggles across the Middle East”

New 🇻🇪 — Venezuelan President @NicolasMaduro, fearing for his regime’s survival, has called on the @OPECSecretariat and the wider #Opec+ group to help his country counter what he described as “growing and illegal threats” from the US. Maduro sent a letter to Opec’s SG Haitham

NEW: #SaudiArabia’s MBS was received with love & pageantry by #Trump & made progress on what he wants from America in defense, nuclear, AI & more. Challenge now is how to turn this into hard deliverables when many in DC, #Israel & elsewhere oppose it 1/4🧵

Still, there are many in the US, both in government and the business community, that believe a deepening of American-Saudi economic, political and military ties is an opportunity that must not be missed — regardless of human rights “There’s a fundamental alignment between the

@aarondmiller2 Opponents of MBS in the US will intensify their efforts to link all agreements with #SaudiArabia to progress on human rights and the release of political prisoners. “I am hopeful, but I am not stupid because I know the Saudi government has the upper hand in terms of money, power

“All of the aspects that make #SaudiArabia a problematic partner are still there and are going to be on display as we move forward in an effort to turn this performative visit into something more,” says @aarondmiller2 about the MBS-Trump encounter in DC & what comes next. 2/4

NEW: #SaudiArabia’s MBS was received with love & pageantry by #Trump & made progress on what he wants from America in defense, nuclear, AI & more. Challenge now is how to turn this into hard deliverables when many in DC, #Israel & elsewhere oppose it 1/4🧵

Honoured to have been welcomed at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi today, a masterpiece built on the values of peace and harmony.

Welcome home Saad Almadi

At the White House this week for the Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS)-Trump summit/extravaganza #SaudiArabia

EXCLUSIVE: #Lebanon’s Premier to Seek US Help to Draw #Israel Into Talks via ⁦@JoumannaTV⁩

President Trump did the Crown Prince no favors in dismissing the dismemberment of columnist Jamal Khashoggi as "things happens"- from the Oval Office no less. It only intensifies qualms about the Saudi-Trump relationship and could complicate delicate negotiations with Congress.

“The combination of color and designer made Mrs. Trump’s dress not just a dress but also a public gesture of recognition and allegiance (despite the fact that it exposed her arms and shoulders, which may have seemed less in keeping with Saudi custom)” https://t.co/CdEZBAFjhf

“Trump doesn’t give a fist pump. I grab that hand. I don’t give a hell where that hand’s been,” Trump said, calling the Saudi crown prince “one of the most respected people in the world” #SaudiArabia #MBS #Trump

Front page 📸 will please MBS & Saudis but not headlines: “Trump Contradicts CIA In Saudi Journalist’s killing” ⁦@WSJ⁩ “President Backs Crown Prince on Khashoggi — Deals Loom” ⁦@nytimes⁩ “Trump Defends Saudi Prince Over Journalist’s Killing” ⁦@washingtonpost⁩

BLOOMBERG EXCLUSIVE: I sit down with Lebanese Prime Minister @nawafsalam for an extensive conversation about Lebanon’s economic prospects around the Beirut1 summit (financial gap law, IMF and more) alongside Lebanon’s security situation: progress on Hezbollah disarmament,

Front page 📸 will please MBS & Saudis but not headlines: “Trump Contradicts CIA In Saudi Journalist’s killing” ⁦@WSJ⁩ “President Backs Crown Prince on Khashoggi — Deals Loom” ⁦@nytimes⁩ “Trump Defends Saudi Prince Over Journalist’s Killing” ⁦@washingtonpost⁩

TRUMP: So you're saying to me now that the $600 billion will be one trillion? MBS: Definitely TRUMP: I like that very much. We're doing numbers that nobody has ever done.

MBS leaving White House #SaudiArabia

NEW: Trump, Eyeing Deals, Says MBS ‘Knew Nothing’ About #Khashoggi #SaudiArabia

NEW: Trump, Eyeing Deals, Says MBS ‘Knew Nothing’ About #Khashoggi #SaudiArabia