Trump says priority to 'end conflicts not start them'
DOHA
US President Donald Trump greets troops at the Al-Udeid air base southwest of Doha on May 15, 2025.
U.S. President Donald Trump Thursday said he wanted to "end conflicts not start them" as he addressed troops at the United States' sprawling Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
"As president, my priority is to end conflicts, not start them," Trump said on a multi-day tour of the Gulf.
But he warned that "I will never hesitate to wield American power if it's necessary to defend the United States of America or our partners,” while flanked on stage by a fighter jet and an MQ-9 drone.
He also said Qatar would invest $10 billion in the coming years to support Al-Udeid, which also hosts the regional headquarters of the Pentagon's Central Command.
Trump, who began his first major foreign tour in Saudi Arabia and later Thursday heads to the United Arab Emirates, has been unabashed about seeking Gulf money and hailed the effect on creating jobs at home.
"This is a record tour. There's never been a tour that will raise, it could be a total of $3.5-4 trillion just in these four or five days," Trump said in Qatar.
In Doha, the president hailed what he said was a record $200 billion deal for Boeing aircraft. Saudi Arabia promised its own $600 billion in investment, including one of the largest-ever purchases of U.S. weapons.
The final stop of his tour is the UAE, which is seeking to become a leader in technology, especially artificial intelligence to help diversify its oil-reliant economy.
Earlier in the day, Trump said a deal was close on Iran's nuclear program that would avert military action, sending oil prices tumbling.
"We're not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran," Trump.
"I think we're getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this," he said, referring to military action.
Oil prices plunged more than three percent on rising hopes for a nuclear deal.
Iran has held four rounds of talks with the Trump administration, which has sought to avoid a threatened military strike by Israel on Tehran's contested nuclear program while pursuing its "maximum pressure" campaign.
