--- title: Trump's Middle East Tour: Most Memorable Photos description: From fighter jet escorts to the gifting of a "drop of oil," here's an inside look at Trump's whirlwind three-country Middle East tour. canonical: https://time.com/7285910/trump-middle-east-tour-photos/ author: Callum Sutherland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-05-16T16:48:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:50:03.181Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump's Middle East Tour: Most Memorable Photos og:description: From fighter jet escorts to the gifting of a "drop of oil," here's an inside look at Trump's whirlwind Middle East tour. og:url: https://time.com/7285910/trump-middle-east-tour-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8795ed5c2413975/6998c6ab47fe51d64a55bb68/trump-middle-east-visit-photos-18.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: trump-middle-east-visit-photos-18 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump's Middle East Tour: Most Memorable Photos twitter:description: From fighter jet escorts to the gifting of a "drop of oil," here's an inside look at Trump's whirlwind Middle East tour. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8795ed5c2413975/6998c6ab47fe51d64a55bb68/trump-middle-east-visit-photos-18.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # From Fighter Jet Escorts to the Gifting of Oil, the Most Memorable Photos of Trump's Middle East Tour > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Trump Brokers $96 Billion Boeing Deal in Qatar, Signaling a New Era of Aviation Diplomacy [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Brokers $96 Billion Boeing Deal in Qatar, Signaling a New Era of Aviation Diplomacy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Q6jhbQUx.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2025-05-14. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday a $96 billion deal between Qatar Airways and Boeing, a symbol of the diplomatic maneuvering defining his presidency. The agreement, signed in Doha during Trump’s Middle East tour, includes the purchase of 210 Boeing jets by the state-owned Qatari carrier. Speaking in Qatar, Trump said the deal was for 160 airplanes and worth over $200 billion—though the White House later issued a fact sheet stating it was for up to 210 jets and worth $96 billion._  President Trump walks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during an arrival ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, 2025. President Trump walks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during an arrival ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, 2025.Alex Brandon—AP --- Story by [Callum Sutherland](https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/) May 16, 2025 4:48 PM UTC President Trump walks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during an arrival ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, 2025. Alex Brandon—AP President Donald Trump’s whirlwind three-country tour of the Middle East saw him receive a royal welcome in the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Trump’s arrival in the Saudi capital of Riyadh was flanked by an escort of F-15 fighter jets, a show of the grandiose visit that awaited him. He was later accompanied by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to a state banquet dinner. The President made a number of investment agreements with the Crown Prince, which the White House said are worth up to $600 billion, including an arms deal worth $142 billion. [Trump also met with Syrian President](https://time.com/7285076/trump-saudi-middle-east-trip/) Ahmed al-Sharaa after announcing he [plans to lift U.S. sanctions](https://time.com/7285433/trump-united-states-sanctions-syria-what-happens-next/) on the country. In Qatar, the [President signed further investment deals](https://time.com/7285418/trump-boeing-qatar-jet-deal/) with the country’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The President concluded his visit in the UAE, where talks focused on AI infrastructure investment in both countries. Potential progress on a nuclear deal with Iran was discussed too. **Read More**: [_Key Moments From Trump's Whirlwind Tour of the Middle East_](https://time.com/7285832/trump-middle-east-tour-key-moments/) At the close of the trip—which lasted from Tuesday, May 13, to Friday, May 16—Trump received a "drop of oil" as a gift from Emirati officials. Accepting the gift, [the President joked](https://news.sky.com/story/trump-middle-east-ukraine-putin-air-force-one-plane-latest-sky-news-live-13209921?postid=9590866#liveblog-body): “This is the highest quality oil there is on the planet, and they only gave me a drop. So, I’m not thrilled, but it’s better than no drop.” Some key moments from Trump’s Middle East trip are captured in the images below.  Trump sits for a meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince in Riyadh on May 13, 2025.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  Saudi men with swords wait during a meeting between President Trump and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  Trump meets with the Saudi Crown Prince and other officials during a “coffee ceremony” at the Saudi Royal Court on May 13, 2025.Win McNamee—Getty Images  Trump walks with leaders to a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council summit at the Ritz-Carlton in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on May 14, 2025.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  Qatari airforce escort the plane transporting Trump as it prepares to land in Qatar on May 14, 2025.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani welcomes President Trump in the Qatari capital of Doha on May 14, 2025.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  Qatar's Emir and Trump have a sit-down meeting.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  Trump delivers remarks at the Al Udeid Air Base, southwest of Doha, Qatar, to U.S. and Qatari military personnel on May 15, 2025.Win McNamee—Getty Images  Trump gestures on stage during his speech at the Al Udeid Air Base.Win McNamee—Getty Images  Trump shakes hands with Yousef Al Obaidli, director-general of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center in Abu Dhabi, during a tour on May 15, 2025.Alex Brandon—AP  The U.S. Secret Service counter-assault team walk through the Grand Mosque during President Trump's visit.Win McNamee—Getty Images  Trump tours the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.Win McNamee—Getty Images  Trump is greeted during an official arrival ceremony at Qasr al Watan in Abu Dhabi.Win McNamee—Getty Images  Trump meets with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during his visit to Qasr al Watan on May 15, 2025.Win McNamee—Getty Images  Trump is presented with a "drop of oil" at the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council meeting in Abu Dhabi on May 16, 2025.Waleed Zein—Anadolu Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7285910/trump-middle-east-tour-photos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7285910/trump-middle-east-tour-photos/"},"headline":"From Fighter Jet Escorts to the Gifting of Oil, the Most Memorable Photos of Trump's Middle East Tour","datePublished":"2025-05-16T16:48:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:50:03.181Z","description":"From fighter jet escorts to the gifting of a \"drop of oil,\" here's an inside look at Trump's whirlwind three-country Middle East tour.","url":"https://time.com/7285910/trump-middle-east-tour-photos/","keywords":["Donald Trump","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Callum Sutherland","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7285910/trump-middle-east-tour-photos/","name":"From Fighter Jet Escorts to the Gifting of Oil, the Most Memorable Photos of Trump's Middle East Tour"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Trump Brokers $96 Billion Boeing Deal in Qatar, Signaling a New Era of Aviation Diplomacy","description":"President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday a $96 billion deal between Qatar Airways and Boeing, a symbol of the diplomatic maneuvering defining his presidency. 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