President Donald Trump wrapped up the first day of his three-nation tour of the Middle East today in Riyadh. He thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a warm welcome and said the US-Saudi partnership has never been stronger.

Saudi Arabia is of key diplomatic importance to the Trump White House, especially amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Trump’s first policy-driven overseas visit in his second term will be the Persian Gulf. Trade, Tehran talks and possibly Gaza will be on the agenda.

The issues of China trade talks, a ceasefire between Pakistan and India, the Ukraine war and Gaza hostages have been in the president's in-tray.

Iran will hold talks in Istanbul on Friday with European parties to their now-moribund 2015 nuclear deal, two European and an Iranian diplomatic source said on Tuesday,

The economic importance of the Middle East to Trump is highlighted by the fact that the visit to Saudi Arabia was due to be the first overseas trip of his second term in the White House. That was before the death of Pope Francis necessitated Trump attending his funeral in Rome towards the end of April.

High-stakes nuclear talks between Iran and the U.S. signal tentative progress as pressure mounts ahead of President Trump's Middle East visit.

President Donald J. Trump’s trip to the Middle East on May 13-16 comes on the heels of more than three months of whirlwind activity in US foreign policy where the region has been a higher priority than it was in the early months of the previous US administration.