WATCH: Saudi F-15s flank Trump’s Air Force One in dramatic Riyadh arrival

Image Credit: X/@Scavino47

Escorted by Royal Saudi Air Force fighter jets, US President Donald Trump touched down in Riyadh on Tuesday to begin a four-day tour of the Gulf that is expected to unlock multi-billion-dollar investment deals across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar.

At least three F-15SA aircraft flanked Air Force One as it approached King Khalid International Airport, in a show of military pageantry shared on video by the official X account of Dan Scavino, assistant to the president.

Read more: These Riyadh roads are closed as Trump begins Saudi visit

Trump was welcomed on arrival by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The two leaders held a brief meeting at the airport, joined by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Good morning from Air Force One, Saudi Arabia! Thank you for the escort, and having President Trump’s back—We all appreciate it. See you on the ground shortly, THANK YOU!!!🇺🇸🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/iGuqfCvnwt

— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) May 13, 2025

The Gulf visit is widely expected to be deal-laden.

Looking out the window of Air Force One as we’re going wheels down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia… https://t.co/UDzPyylyF8 pic.twitter.com/xr5aCHXEWQ

— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) May 13, 2025

Air Force One about to go wheels down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with Saudi F-15 fighter jets bringing us in. On behalf of President Trump, THANK YOU! 🇺🇸🇸🇦 https://t.co/UDzPyylyF8 pic.twitter.com/Nd6DnRGtZD

— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) May 13, 2025

Trump will also attend the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh today, hosted at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center. Executives from BlackRock, Citigroup, IBM and Alphabet are expected to attend, underscoring efforts to deepen US-Gulf commercial ties.

Read more: Trump jets into Saudi, UAE and Qatar with trillion-dollar investment ambitions

Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, is also in attendance, along with Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia.