Trump’s Mideast trip splashes out on deals and diplomacy but is quiet on human rights
- On May 13, 2025, President Donald Trump gave a speech at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Saudi royalty present.
- The visit followed a background of tightened U.S.-Saudi ties under Trump, contrasting with previous criticism over human rights issues like the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
- Trump praised the partnership and peace efforts in the Middle East, dismissed past U.S. Interference, and highlighted Saudi reforms including women's legal liberalization and prisoner releases.
- Rights groups reported thousands, including detainees like Ibrahim Almadi's father, face exit bans and ongoing repression with Saudi executions rising 76% to 345 in 2024 despite claims of limiting capital punishment.
- Trump’s speech signaled U.S. Retreat from its traditional human rights advocacy in the region, raising fears this shift enables unchecked Saudi policies that could worsen conditions for dissidents.
59 Articles
59 Articles
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On his way home from work this week in Tehran, Majid, a 34-year-old computer programmer, encountered traffic chaos because a power outage had disabled the stoplights. Earlier in the day, he and his co-workers had been trapped on the 16th floor of their all-glass office building without electricity or air-conditioning. The headlines on Iranian state television that evening were dominated by the acute energy and economic crisis plaguing the countr…


Trump's Journey to the Middle East Highlights Deals and Diplomacy, But Silence on Human Rights · Global Voices
Saudi royalty and U.S. billionaires were in the front row for a speech in Riyadh in which President Donald Trump condemned what he called past U.S. interference in the rich Persian Gulf states.
President Trump Impromptu Presser Aboard Airforce One Returning to USA - Video - The Last Refuge
Returning to the USA from a four-day, three-nation, trip to the middle east, President Trump recaps the trip and outlines his thoughts on current events as questioned by the assembled press pool. President Trump answers media questions aboard Airforce One. WATCH: . Posted in President Trump, Press Secretary - Trump, Uncategorized The post President Trump Impromptu Presser Aboard Airforce One Returning to USA – Video appeared first on The Last R…
Watch Trump’s first major overseas trip in 3 minutes
President Donald Trump just wrapped four days of travel through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reports from the Middle East during the president’s first major overseas trip.
Biden's Silent Stand on Human Rights Failure in Saudi Arabia - Real News Now
The rich and powerful gathered in Riyadh to catch President Donald Trump’s speech, including Saudi royalty and American billionaires. This talk marked the dismissal of what Trump referred to as previous U.S. meddling in the affluent Gulf nations’ business. As Trump made clear at this week’s Saudi investment forum, the era of American officials boarding flights to the Middle East to instruct you on ways of living, and managing your own affairs, h…
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