RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, May 13, (AP): US President Donald Trump opened his four-day Mideast trip on Tuesday by paying a visit to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for talks on US efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear program, end the war in Gaza, hold down oil prices and more. Bin Salman warmly greeted Trump as he stepped off Air Force One and kicked off his Middle East tour.

The two leaders then retreated to a grand hall at the Riyadh airport, where Trump and his aides were served traditional Arabic coffee by waiting attendants wearing ceremonial gun-belts. The pomp began before Trump even landed. Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s provided an honorary escort for Air Force One as it approached the kingdom’s capital.

The crown prince will fete Trump with a formal dinner and Trump is slated to take part later Tuesday in a US-Saudi investment conference. "When Saudis and Americans join forces, very good things happen - more often than not, great things happen," Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said. Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC+ nations have already helped their cause with Trump early in his second term by stepping up oil production.

Trump sees cheap energy as a key component to lowering costs and stemming inflation for Americans. The president has also made the case that lower oil prices will hasten an end to Russia's war on Ukraine. But Saudi Arabia's economy remains heavily dependent on oil, and the kingdom needs a fiscal break-even oil price of $96 to $98 a barrel to balance its budget. It's questionable how long OPEC+, of which Saudi Arabia is the leading member, is willing to keep production elevated.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude closed Monday at $64.77. "One of the challenges for the Gulf states of lower oil prices is it doesn’t necessarily imperil economic diversification programs, but it certainly makes them harder,” said Jon Alterman, a senior Middle East analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.