The 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers is "flawed," Saudi Arabia said on Monday, on the eve of a meeting between the Saudi crown prince and U.S. President Donald Trump. Both have been consistently and highly critical of Iran.
"Our view of the nuclear deal is that it's a flawed agreement," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Washington.
The meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Trump comes at a time when the relationship between Riyadh and Washington has been growing closer, reversing some of the tensions under the previous U.S. administration, in part over Iran.
Jubeir called out Iran for what the Saudis have long criticized as its destabilizing behavior in the region.
"We've called for tougher policies toward Iran for years," he said. "We're looking at ways in which we can push back against Iran's nefarious activities in the region."
Jubeir lambasted Iran's support for the Houthi militia in Yemen and for President Bashar Assad in Syria.
Iran denies any interference in the region's affairs.
Saudi Arabia had viewed with unease the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, which it felt considered Riyadh's alliance with Washington less important than negotiating the Iran nuclear deal.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency said the crown prince left for the United States on Monday. The trip is expected to include meetings with business leaders and stops in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston.
This is Mohammed's first visit to the United States since he became the heir apparent of Saudi Arabia.
The ambitious young prince has already launched extensive reforms to modernize deeply conservative Saudi Arabia.
He visited Britain this month on his first official foreign tour in his current capacity as part of efforts to persuade Western allies that "shock" reforms have made his country, the world's top oil exporter, a better place to invest and a more tolerant society.
The prince was scheduled to meet with Trump on Tuesday at the White House. He was also planning to meet members of the U.S. Congress, some of whom have been critical of the Saudi campaign in Yemen, particularly the humanitarian situation and civilian casualties.
Senior Trump administration officials who briefed reporters ahead of the visit said Trump wants to resolve the dispute between Persian Gulf states and Qatar, although the Saudi foreign minister called the issue a "very small matter."
Trump also wants to arrange a summit of Gulf states, the officials said.
Commercial ties also figure into the visit.
"While the crown prince is in Washington, we will be advocating for $35 billion in commercial deals for U.S. companies that would support 120,000 American jobs," one official said.
Executives representing the largest U.S. defense companies, including Lockheed Martin and Boeing, plan to attend an industry roundtable with Mohammed on Wednesday, people familiar with the plan said.
Top executives, including Lockheed's Marillyn Hewson and Boeing's Dennis Muilenburg, plan on attending, sources said.
The prince also plans to meet with executives in the oil and gas industry in Houston, according to Jubeir. Without providing details, Jubeir said Riyadh would look to sign memorandums of understanding.
In addition, the crown prince will conduct meetings at Google and Apple, and he also plans meet with U.N. Secretary General António Guterres.
In his meetings with business, industry and entertainment leaders, the prince is aiming to cultivate investments and political support. Several dozen Saudi chief executives are expected to join him in touting investment opportunities in the kingdom.
Any visit to the New York Stock Exchange will be watched closely by investors because of the potentially lucrative listing of up to 5% of Saudi Aramco expected this year.
Sources close to the process said the kingdom is increasingly looking to just float the oil giant locally as plans for an initial public offering on an international exchange such as New York or London appear to be receding.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said recently that Aramco was too important to risk listing in the U.S. because of litigation concerns, such as existing lawsuits against rival oil companies for their role in climate change.
Mohammed has won Western plaudits for seeking to ease Saudi Arabia's reliance on oil, tackle chronic corruption and transform the Sunni Muslim kingdom.
However, the severity and secrecy of an anti-corruption crackdown last November, after he was named heir to the throne, has unnerved some investors.
